WestJet finds lost gecko, owner wants airline to change policy on cabin access

VANCOUVER – A pet gecko that disappeared after its owner put it on a WestJet flight from Toronto to Vancouver last Sunday has been found alive.

Meryl Bishop, the owner of Nom the gecko, received a call from the airline on Wednesday afternoon to say she's been found.

The 11-centimetre lizard hasn't had any food and little water since she was placed in the cargo hold of a plane.

Bishop says in a Facebook message that all Nom had was a damp paper towel placed in her carrier to keep her cool and create some humidity.

Bishop says she hasn't been told where Nom was found or why she was lost.

WestJet said in an earlier statement that it issued a countrywide alert for Nom and asked its employees to check all its cargo facilities and warehouses.

In a Facebook posting, Bishop said she wants WestJet to change its policies on transport of such animals that require them to be placed in the lower hold.

She says the incident could have been avoided if WestJet had been more flexible and allowed Nom to travel in the cabin.

"Something needs to change so no one else has to go through the heartbreak I've been going through," she wrote.