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Stowaway: Texas couple finds pet Chihuahua hiding inside luggage at airport

LUBBOCK, Texas — The family pet wanted a vacation, too.

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A Texas couple could not understand why their luggage weighed so much when they arrived at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport for their flight to Las Vegas in late September, KCBD reported.

The answer became obvious when they opened a suitcase and found Icky, their pet Chihuahua, snuggled among the couple’s clothes.

Jared Owens and his wife, Kristi Owens, were perplexed when they checked in their luggage at the Southwest Airlines counter, KCBD reported.

“They put it on the scale and this bag is basically like five, five and a half pounds overweight,” Jared Owens told the television station. “Really quickly we are like, ‘Oh, we have got to rearrange some stuff. (We open) it up and literally, there’s our dog coming out of my boot, coming out of my boot with his head bopping up.”

Icky was hidden inside Jared Owens’ footwear, which did not surprise the couple. Digging in is in this tiny canine’s blood.

“She’s the burrower, that’s what she does,” Jared Owens told KCBD. “She burrows in clothes, she burrows in, obviously, suitcases now.”

According to People, Chihuahuas sometimes instinctively burrow. According to the National Canine Research Association of America, the breed used the skill to help forage for food and seek shelter.

Cathy Cook, a Southwest Airlines employee who was working at the check-in counter, offered to watch the pooch while the couple was in Las Vegas. However, Jared Owens said he was able to contact a family member, who took Icky home.

“They have got a heck of an employee in Cathy. She went above and beyond and never made us feel, you know, they could have turned us in saying we were trying to smuggle a dog to Vegas or something,” Jared Owens told KCBD. “Never acted like that, they were extremely gracious. Like I said, she was willing to watch our dog for us while we were gone.”

Jared Owens said he was also grateful they found Icky before boarding the plane.

“Thank goodness we found this dog because you would have gotten to Vegas and you probably would have had a deceased animal in your bag,” he told KCBD.