Woman blames bus driver for lost cat

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - A former Baltimore resident is paying dearly for bringing her cat onto a bus and then falling asleep.

Ali Streimer was on her way back to New York after visiting her family here over Thanksgiving weekend. She boarded a Hunt Valley Motor Bus in Pikesville at about 6:30 a.m. Monday with her cat, Athena, in a carrier case.

Streimer nodded off quickly. While she dozed, Athena got the zipper of her carrier open and began strolling down the aisle, Streimer learned later.

She woke up about 7:20 a.m. when someone asked to sit next to her — and discovered Athena was gone.

“ ‘Oh, that was your cat,’ the woman behind me said when she saw that I was upset,” Streimer said in a phone interview from home.

Other passengers had shooed the cat to the front of the bus, and the driver let Athena off at his next stop.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Streimer said. “And the driver was not apologetic either, acting like, ‘What do you want me to do?’ ”

Details about how aggressive the driver was — whether he merely opened the door or actually pushed or carried the cat off the bus — were not available. Neither Streimer nor a spokesman for the bus company knew, and the bus driver did not return a call for comment.

“We’ll apologize for what happened and we feel bad,” said Tom Banister, general manager of Hunt Valley Motor Coach. “But we don’t feel that it is our fault … she should have told the driver that she had a cat on the bus in the first place.” He said the driver thought the cat was a stray that got onto the bus when the door was open.

But Streimer said Athena was wearing both identification and flea collar.

Hunt Valley Motor Coach has a policy of no pets in the passenger portion of the bus, Banister said, unless it is a service animal. Allergies and animal phobias are the reasons for this policy. He said animals need to ride in the cargo area.

“I didn't know about that policy,” Streimer said. “I’ve taken Athena on their buses numerous times … she never bothers anyone.”

Because Streimer lives out of town, her mother, Gayle Becker, of Pikesville, is leading the crusade to find the cat.

The black cat with green eyes is an indoor cat, probably wandering around hungry and lonely now, Becker said, and her daughter is heartbroken.

“She’s my baby,” Streimer said.

“I've put up fliers, contacted Animal Protection,” Becker said. “My goal now is to get some attention to get [Athena] back.”

Athena was last seen near the Carney Park and Ride on Hartford Road.

If you see Athena or have any information, please call Becker at 443-739-1937.

mmccarron@baltimoreexaminer.com

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