Under orders from Congress, the Des Moines airport will soon make it easier for dogs, turkeys, (altered) skunks and other companion animals to take care of business while visiting the terminal with a passenger. Engineers are completing design of a special toilet for the animals that will feature a box with fake grass and a plastic fire hydrant “to help encourage the animals to go,” said airport chief Kevin Foley. The special toilet will be behind security, near gate C2, which will lose about 10 seats. “This is for real. I am not joking,” Foley told the airport authority board this morning. The fake-grass box flushes into the sanitary sewer. A sink nearby offers the passenger a chance for a post-potty-break hand-washing. Foley said Des Moines usually sees dogs as companions for people with anxiety issues or limited sight, but a whole range of animals have legally visited other airports. He showed the board photos of a turkey, a miniature horse and a small pig on various planes, and said he’s heard of skunks making the ride, too. Currently, the airport only has an outdoor area designated for animals to do their duty. In other airport-improvement news, nursing mothers will now have an option outside of restrooms to get some privacy. Under another federal law, the airport soon will install a “lactation pod,” basically a prefab room with lights, chairs and a table for mothers to use for breastfeeding. That will be just past the security checks, along the south wall.