NEW YORK — Little Simba couldn’t wait to check it out.
NEW YORK — Little Simba couldn’t wait to check it out.
The toy poodle was among the first to try a special bathroom just for animals at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, among a growing number of “pet relief facilities” being installed at major air hubs across the nation.
“There’s a fire hydrant in there!” Simba’s owner, Heidi Liddell, announced as she opened the pawprint-marked door between the men’s and women’s rooms.
It didn’t take long for the dog to sidle up to the little red hydrant atop a patch of artificial turf and do her business. A dispenser of plastic doggie bags and a hose was provided for the owners to clean the area up for the next pet.
The 70-square-foot room, at JFK’s sprawling Terminal 4, allows dogs and other animals to relieve themselves without needing to exit the building to find a place to go outside — a step that requires an annoying second trip through the security line.
“We had seen an increase of passengers traveling with pets and we decided to do it sooner rather than later,” said Susana Cunha, vice president of the management company that operates the terminal.
Guide and service dogs, emotional support animals and other pets traveling with passengers are all welcome to use the facilities.
A federal regulation will require that all airports that service more than 10,000 passengers per year install a pet relief area in every terminal by this August. Airports that already have them include Dulles International outside Washington D.C., Chicago’s O’Hare and Seattle-Tacoma International.