Speaking of Hossenfeffer....
I was working the ticket counter at the airport one time (pre-911) when a lady showed up wanting to travel with a box. I asked her what was in the box since she was wanting to take it on the plane with her and she whipsered, "My dog".
I checked her reservation and saw that she had not reserved a lapdog space and asked to see her vet records in order to proceed.
"Oh I don't have vet records", she says.
I then explain to her that we can't allow her to travel with an in-cabin animal without the proper documentation.
She then tells me that the dog is dead and wants to know if that makes a difference.
Apparently, she had driven out to see her sister with her little Yorkie puppy and it had been hit by a car while on the trip. She wanted to take the dead dog home in the box with her.
In my head I was like, "Woman, you ain't taking a friggin DEAD DOG on the plane with you while other folks have to breathe the funk..."
But then I looked at her biggo watery eyes and my little Grinch heart began to beat again, dammit.
We ended up going over to a local air-freight shipper and having the little guy put on dry ice and shipped back home to her.
She was grateful. I was relieved.