Patten's pets grounded

Patten's pets grounded

HONG KONG, (AFP): Whisky and Soda, the pet dogs of Hong Kong's last British governor, could not leave the territory because of a French air dispute, reports said yesterday.

The Norfolk terriers were to have been flown Friday to France, where Governor Chris Patten has a home, but a strike threat by Air Inter Europe Cabin staff disrupted the flight plans, the South China Morning Post said.

The Air Inter flight would have taken the dogs on the last leg of their journey from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport to Toulouse. But had the strike gone ahead they would have risked spent up to three days in a Paris animal warehouse.