Virgin’s decision to allow pets on planes might change in-flight menu

Our family pets are just that: part of our family. So when we travel, we like them to come with us. If you have ever been fortunate enough to visit Europe, you would have seen people travelling on all sorts of public transport with their dogs. It’s not uncommon to see a person sitting in their First Class seat on the TGV high speed rail from Paris to Lyon, with a small dog’s head sticking out of a Louis Vuitton* travel bag being hand-fed treats by its owner.

So this week when Virgin Airlines Australia announced that it was going to permit pets to travel with their owners in the passenger compartment on flights, it sounded like a good thing for people who love their pooches and pussycats!

Being a cartoonist, I thought this was a great topic for my daily cartoon in the Herald Sun. Even though the new rules only permit smaller dogs and cats, which must be carried in an approved pet carrier and sit in a designated* area in the cabin, I thought I could employ to great comedic* effect my cartoonist’s licence of exaggeration and have a bit of fun with the concept!

I imagined the cabin of the Virgin flight as an area designated “K9* Class” and I wanted the dogs that were travelling with their owners to be doing things on the aircraft that we humans normally do. When you give an animal a human trait*, behaviour or appearance it is called “anthropomorphism”. We see it all the time in art and literature. The tales of Peter Rabbit, Mickey Mouse and our own Bluey cartoon character are all examples.

So my dogs would be doing things like watching movies, listening to music, choosing a meal from the in-flight dining menu or being served from the food and beverage* trolley by the cabin staff. I love to draw dogs, so it was a great opportunity to picture as many different breeds as I could as well squeezing into one scene as many “dog jokes” as I possibly could!

My favourites in the picture? Maybe the flight steward casually tossing bones to K9 customers as the trolley makes its way down the aisle. But the winner would have to be that terrible situation we all face occasionally on domestic flights, when the food and beverage trolley blocks our path to the toilet. The sight of that little fox terrier with the Mr Poo thought bubble standing waiting for the trolley to clear so it can get to the bathroom is my fave.

Now I’m just thinking, what if I had added cats?

POLL

GLOSSARY

• Louis Vuitton: a French luxury fashion brand that makes very expensive travel goods and other items
• designated: specified, chosen, selected, appointed, decided
• K9: canine, relating to dogs
• comedic: relating to or involving comedy and humour
• trait: a particular characteristic
• beverage: drink

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Which airline announced it will allow pets to travel with their owners?
2. What is the French high speed rail service called?
3. What is the famous French luggage brand mentioned in Mark Knight’s explainer?
4. What is anthropomorphism?
5. What is cartoonist Mark Knight’s favourite part of the cartoon?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Humour analysis
After reading and analysing the Mark Knight cartoon in the Kids News explainer, complete the following analysis questions to help you get the full humour out of his drawing.

Mark Knight cartoon analysis:
What is the main issue Mark Knight is highlighting:

Who is portrayed in the cartoon?

How are they portrayed?

What is the humour in the drawing?

Who might agree with his viewpoint?

Who might disagree or possibly be offended by this viewpoint?

Do you think he makes a good point? Explain your answer.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Write a response to this cartoon from the viewpoint of one of the people or objects portrayed in the cartoon. Think, what would be their response to the speech bubble and satire from the cartoon.

Write or draw your response below.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.

Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.