A Day in the Life of a Pet in Airline Cargo

Every day, thousands of pets fly on U.S. airlines. Most of the time, it's a seamless event and everyone arrives safely. Occasionally it's not -- with some unfortunate results.

More than 140 pets died and 88 were lost or injured while traveling on airplanes between May 2005 and July 2010, according to a Department of Transportation report. So what does happen when your precious pooch goes in cargo? We asked Continental Airlines to show us the trip of one checked pet as it travels from Houston to Newark.

First, there's a little preparation the pet owner needs to do.