A dying pet is always a stressful and devastating event, more so if the military allegedly caused the death. Such is the case for one woman from Seattle, Washington, whose cat recently died, apparently due to the stress caused by fighter jets’ demos over the city. Now, the grieving Seattle woman is suing the US Navy and also launching a petition for fighter jet airshows to be banned over their city.
Lauren Ann Lombardi is the aggrieved fur parent in question, and she filed a complaint in the US District court around July 21. Lombardi is invoking declaratory and injunctive relief against three Navy officers from the US Navy Blue Angels squadron, which was practicing the upcoming 2025 Boeing Seafair Air Show over Seattle airspace, supposed to take place in August 2025.
Lombardi alleges that her late pet cat Layla was suffering from congestive heart disease, and her condition worsened after August 2023 and 2024 Blue Angels Air Shows. Apparently, the extremely loud noise from the low-flying F/A-18 fighter jets caused panic attacks for Layla and gave her an elevated heart rate. Layle then had to be euthanised in August 2024 after her condition worsened.
Turns out Lombardi isn’t the only person waging a war on the US Navy. On top of the lawsuit, other citizens have also launched a petition on Change.org to prohibit Seafair Air Shows over Seattle. Meanwhile, Lombardi’s online accounts were even blocked and censored by @usnavyblueangels, which is why she’s also lodging another complaint, courtesy of KIRO7.
Is the Noise Pollution and Jet Fuel Cost Worth It?
Lombardi and her cat Layla’s predicament and struggles with the Seafair fighter jets, in conjunction with other Seattle residents’ complaints, have been relatable to anyone who has witnessed these Air Shows. It’s also worth noting that the Blue Angels are just one set of loud fighter jets demonstrating all over these Air Shows, and all of them are indeed too loud even for human ears.
Some have claimed that these Air Shows have made their whole neighborhood sound like a warzone for a whole week, which doesn’t exactly sound healthy for human or animal hearing. Other cat owners have confirmed that their pets have indeed freaked out after similar fly-overs from other aircraft and even lost their appetite for the day.
Given how both cats and dogs have a heightened sense of hearing compared to human ears, such artificial noises are understandably detrimental to their health, and many people online agree with the lawsuit against the Blue Angels.
“She has a good point about the censorship,” agrees judeiscariot
“For those who don’t know, the Blue Angels are the U.S. Navy’s “flight demonstration squadron” and does a lot of air shows. I saw them once at an air show the next city over from where I live and can confirm that their jets are loud,” explains commandrix
“I mean… seems reasonable to be honest why do the Blue angels need to fly over residential areas. Like yea it’s pretty cool but that’s absolutely going to be a terrifying sound especially for pets/wildlife,” says IK3AGNOM3
“I’m good with grounding all these propaganda operations. Waste of money, an environmental hazard, and bad for people and animals,” argues BigWhiteDog
