The pet owners among us know how heart-wrenching it can be to leave behind our beloved animals when we jet off on holiday – you cant fail to be moved when your pooch turns on those big puppy eyes, or Mr Tiddles purrs contentedly as he winds himself around your ankles.
But one holidaymaker had a brush with the law after being caught smuggling his pet turtle on board a plane… disguised as a hamburger.
In one of the most brilliant excuses we've ever heard, the man - who was stopped at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China - told security staff that his KFC bag contained "nothing special".
"There's no turtle in there, just a hamburger," the passenger, reportedly named Li, insisted when the officials took a look at the unusual X-ray machine images.
"There's nothing special to see inside."
His attempt to spend a relaxing getaway with his pet was busted when airport employees spotted the turtle's legs protruding from the bun and told Li that he would have to leave his shelled companion behind.
Thankfully, the hapless traveller managed to rope a friend into turtle-sitting his pet while he was away, and he was allowed to continue his journey.
It's not the first time animal lovers have been caught trying to smuggle their furry friends across borders, as one Norwegian man was stopped after getting off a ferry in Denmark with live snakes strapped to his chest.
Customs officers saw the man's body "in constant motion" and when they searched him discovered 14 royal pythons had been stuck inside socks and taped under his shirt.
That's not even the worst example of animal smuggling though. One Thai woman managed to get a three-month-old tiger cub into her suitcase, surrounded it with soft toys and calmly went through security at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
Luckily the gorgeous cub was discovered and turned over to an wildlife centre where he was cared for until he recovered from the ordeal.