United Puppy Death
An innocent puppy dies in the overhead bin of a plane.
Dogs provide many homes with love and companionship. Children, especially, consider them equally as important as the human members of their family.
The saying “dogs are a man’s best friend” has been ingrained in the lives of many, so why are they treated so poorly? The relationship between a pet and their owner is one of the most precious bonds, and is near impossible to break. Needless to say, no animal should ever be put in a condition that could potentially cost them their lives. Unfortunately, these situations still occur and have heartbreaking results.
On March 12th, Catalina and her daughter Sophia boarded their United flight with their ten-month old puppy. They were then forced to place their dog in the overhead bin on the plane, despite spending an addition $125 for their puppy to fly with them. After the flight, they opened the carrier and were devastated to see that their puppy had suffocated and died.
Sophia told NBC News that after the flight attendant asked her mother to put the carrier in the overhead bin, she screamed, “It’s a dog! It’s a dog!” The flight attendant, ignoring her complaints, responded with “we have to put it up there.” After the incident, the flight attendant said she “didn’t know it was a dog,” despite physically touching the bag and feeling the dog inside. This “miscommunication” led to the death of an innocent puppy and it could have easily been avoided.
Quality time with a pet is just as important as quality time with a human family member.
As a result, the airline will begin implementing procedures that will give bright colored tags to any and all passengers who travel with a pet. This will make it much easier for flight attendants to see which passengers have animals on board with them. If this case were to happen again, the flight attendant would be to blame because there would be proof that the passenger was carrying an animal with them.
Although the flight attendant was in the wrong, the owner of the puppy is responsible as well. By refusing to place her ten-month old puppy in the bin, the puppy’s death could have been easily avoided. Any responsible owner would argue with the flight attendant until they got their way, even if it meant getting kicked off the plane, but she gave in too easily. The whole situation was a mess, but there were definitely ways around it.
