If a cat goes missing, you would expect the owner, their family and friends to begin searching, but would you expect the government to intervene? Apparently, the country of Bolivia takes the matter quite seriously. On Dec. 8, 2022, Andrea Iturre was told by officials at Boliviana de Aviación (BOA) that she her emotional support cat Tito would have to travel in the hold of the plane. She reluctantly handed over her beloved tabby to airline employees at Tarija Airport, but when she went to pick up her luggage at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, Tito was nowhere to be found. It turns out that the airline had lost the cat in Tarija, before the flight even took off for Santa Cruz. Iturre was outraged that they let her make the trip without telling her that her cat was not onboard. On Dec. 12, Public Works Minister Edgar Montano announced a big state-led search effort. Tito is chipped and certified as a therapeutic cat, so confirmation could be made by taking the cat to any veterinarian. BOA abandoned their search effort in Tarija after a week, though they did agree to pay Iturre’s costs when she returned to look for Tito. Executives at BOA — already the target of much criticism in Bolivia — finally notified the media and asked for help from the citizens of Tarija. Iturre called for people to stay alert for signs of her cat, adding, “I have not stopped, and I will not stop, searching for him.”
