United Airlines Kills a Dog

[LSUmiss]

Flame suit on! Planes are for transporting people period. Animals are a safety hazard, crated or uncrated. I do not want to have the possibility of allergic reaction to dander, animal picking up fleas or ticks in an area unfamiliar to owner attending their animals toileting needs, animal air sickness, toileting accidents on board, or nervous animal that would not normally bite snapping at someone. We all know that planes are not cleaned between flights. Then what if something were to happen and the plane would have to be evacuated. Do you think anyone is going to worry about your pet if their life is endangered? Is the airline responsible for saving your pet? Leave your animals at home where they belong.

All of that is irrelevant in this case. The debate is not whether pets should be allowed in planes. Take that up with your airline. It’s that if they agree to allow them AND CHARGE ppl for that privilege, it should be reasonable to assume that they will not be endangered to the point that will SUFFER & die. It’s horrfic. FTR, I would never fly with my dogs for this reason & other reason I’ve stated & b/c of callous ppl like you. And, if it was my puppy, I would absolutely be more concerned with saving him than another able-bodied grown adult.

 

[bellebud]

I think the FA should be held responsible here. It's not any airlines policy to put animals in an overhead bin. That's honestly laughable. I'd be suing the poopie out of her personally.

 

[SharonZ]

Why didn't they move the carrier under the middle seat, I believe the carrier was soft sided and it should have been easier to work with and not stick out into the aisle? If you wouldn't put an infant in the overhead compartment, it shouldn't be suitable for a puppy. Usually when you buy a carrier, it is stated whether it is airline compliant. I would have exited the plane.

 

[mexi]

I haven’t read through all the comments here but I’m wondering why no one on the plane objected to putting an animal in an overhead bin? This is making me so upset. If I was on that plane I would have gladly stepped in to help and put myself between that pet and the overhead compartment. I am so sad this happened.

 

[RedAngie]

I'm not sure that "FAA Approved" means it must fit under the seats. Here's United's rules on size:

To me, that means there's ~7.50-8" of height clearance under the seat. It's been stated earlier that the carrier in question did NOT fit under the seat (which would be why it was sticking in the aisle). How tall would the dog have been? Figure a sheet of paper is 8.5" wide.

I don't know the answer to that. The photo of the dead dog in the carrier is floating around the internet. IMO, the dog was too big for the container. Might have been OK for a short flight, but it seems awfully confining for 3+ hours, even below the seat.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Reading further into the United policy, there are certain pet restrictions that would exclude breeds like this French bulldog unless the animal was less than 6 months of age and under 20 pounds. Now this restriction may be for animal that go into the cargo area but if there is a health risk to that breed in the cargo hold (which is supposed to be pressurized same as the passenger cabin), I would think the restriction should also apply to the same animal that is brought on board as carryon. It sounds like the airlines need to do a lot more to clarify their policies.

It would still be two choices the FA would have given the passenger--cargo if the dog was able to or make alternative arrangements rather than fly on that flight.

Again the overhead bin was not acceptable to suggest-whether the dog lived or didn't live, whether the dog was a certain breed or not, etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I haven’t read through all the comments here but I’m wondering why no one on the plane objected to putting an animal in an overhead bin? This is making me so upset. If I was on that plane I would have gladly stepped in to help and put myself between that pet and the overhead compartment. I am so sad this happened.

You bet your butt that at least some people were uncomfortable on that flight. I do know that the FAA says on their website:

• You must follow flight attendant instructions regarding the proper stowage of your pet container.

Would I allow my pet to go in the overhead bin-hells no way. The passengers may not know the exact FAA's rules but I'm guessing that in reality it's the "listen to authority" issue as well as the social restraint of not interferring with FA's instructions. Enough stories have circulated around about passengers booted off flights, physically handled on flights, etc. Perhaps if fear of reprecusions for a reasonable dialogue with the FAs regarding the improper (and I'm sure people thought wth at that the suggestion) requirement to put the dog in the overhead bin there might have been a different outcome. IDK.

 

[asta]

I would agree with that. If a pet doesn't fit under the seat my understanding is that it can't fly in the cabin.

If that is the case then when this was noticed they should have had to leave. Someone else asked if they should have delayed the flight to do so and yes if the gate agents messed up and let them board and the FA messed up and didn't realize until they started Taxing then yes they should have gone back and delayed the flight. As much as a delayed flight is annoying that would have been the proper answer because all other solutions as you stated above were a risk to either the dog or passengers due to blocking aisles.

It doesn’t makes it right but turning the plane around in order to remove the dog is not easy. And one delayed flight causes echoes throughout the entire aviation system. The right thing to do was to remove the dog from the cabin but I can understand the pressure to do something to keep the flight on schedule. It is a sad situation but the dog should never have been permitted to get on the plane. I know this is not popular with some pet owners but the airlines first responsibility is to insure safety of the humans flying with them. The family admitted the dog was blocking the “pathway”. That endangered everyone on board. It had to be moved.

 

[sam_gordon]

It doesn’t makes it right but turning the plane around in order to remove the dog is not easy. And one delayed flight causes echoes throughout the entire aviation system. The right thing to do was to remove the dog from the cabin but I can understand the pressure to do something to keep the flight on schedule. It is a sad situation but the dog should never have been permitted to get on the plane. I know this is not popular with some pet owners but the airlines first responsibility is to insure safety of the humans flying with them. The family admitted the dog was blocking the “pathway”. That endangered everyone on board. It had to be moved.

And I find it hard to believe that wasn't caught until the airplane was taxiing. I'm assuming (yes, I know) it was before push back, so the argument about turning the plane around wouldn't apply.

 

[mexi]

You bet your butt that at least some people were uncomfortable on that flight. I do know that the FAA says on their website:

• You must follow flight attendant instructions regarding the proper stowage of your pet container.

Would I allow my pet to go in the overhead bin-hells no way. The passengers may not know the exact FAA's rules but I'm guessing that in reality it's the "listen to authority" issue as well as the social restraint of not interferring with FA's instructions. Enough stories have circulated around about passengers booted off flights, physically handled on flights, etc. Perhaps if fear of reprecusions for a reasonable dialogue with the FAs regarding the improper (and I'm sure people thought wth at that the suggestion) requirement to put the dog in the overhead bin there might have been a different outcome. IDK.

I understand what you are saying. For me though, if I was on that plane I wouldn’t have been able to sit and keep quiet in a situation like that. If I get thrown off the plane then so be it. I wouldn’t be able to just sit there and not step in to speak up for the safety of the animal.

I’m just wondering if anyone on the flight spoke up.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

United is not having a good week when it comes to dogs:

http://www.kctv5.com/story/37719697...t-on-flight-to-japan-following-airline-mix-up

"An error occurred during connections in Denver for two pets sent to the wrong destinations. We have notified our customers that their pets have arrived safely and will arrange to return the pets to them as soon as possible. We apologize for this mistake and are following up with the vendor kennel where they were kept overnight to understand what happened."

At least at this point the dogs are ok. I guess their kennels were alike so it is possible that it could be a mistake with the vendor kennel as well. The main issue for the owners is their paperwork is mixed up so they don't have a clear way of tracking their dog.

I'm really thinking, not just United, but all airlines should have a refresher course on their pet procedures.

 

[georgina]

Why was the 11 year old daughter being interviewed? The mother was sitting right next to her.

In the interview I saw, the mother did not speak English. Perhaps that contributed to the problem.

 

[Dznypal]

Not speaking English I'm sure is a big part of the horrible issue with this poor puppy. Maybe if she understood the language this wouldn't have happened. This is why I always say if you want to live in this country. Learn the language

 

[GreatLakes]

Sorry, if you comply with this order you are an idiot. Forgetting for a moment that any dog worth having is far to big to be in a carry on bag (in my opinion) you don't put a living organism that you care about in the overhead compartment. Doing so makes you an <redacted>. You walk off the plane, no other alternative.

The FA is in the wrong here but you don't listen to dumb people making dumb suggestions and then blame that dumb person because you decided their dumb suggestions was a good idea.

 

[fhtpdw20]

The point is leave your animals at home. It relieves stress on the animal, other passengers, and the flight crew. An animal dying becomes a moot point when the animal remains alive at home where it belongs. I wonder if the family understood the breathing limitations of the breed or if they got it because it was just a cute pup.

 

[moon]

The point is leave your animals at home. It relieves stress on the animal, other passengers, and the flight crew. An animal dying becomes a moot point when the animal remains alive at home where it belongs. I wonder if the family understood the breathing limitations of the breed or if they got it because it was just a cute pup.

What if you are moving far away for months or permanently? Are you supposed to abandon you pet then? Sometimes you have no choice but to fly with them.

 

[robinb]

Many people are blaming the mother for obeying the order of the FA to put the dog in the overhead compartment. I wonder how their tune would change if the non-English speaking mother had resisted the order and someone posted a video of her being thrown off the plane with her kids and her dog. It wouldn't ... I bet that would still be her fault too ... for not obeying the FA *and* not speaking English.

Oh, and color me a <redacted> idiot because if I've never traveled with an animal and I would have trusted the FA to (1) know the rules and (2) tell me to do something that was not unsafe for my pet. All this talk about "I would never do that!" is all Monday morning quarterbacking.

 

[undertheradar]

The language issue makes this more about what was a safe plan for this travel party. The Mom depending upon the 11 year old daughter to interpret for her is a big problem. Add to it a lap infant and a barking dog, how could anyone see this as a well thought out plan?

 

[QueenIsabella]

The point is leave your animals at home. It relieves stress on the animal, other passengers, and the flight crew. An animal dying becomes a moot point when the animal remains alive at home where it belongs. I wonder if the family understood the breathing limitations of the breed or if they got it because it was just a cute pup.

Okay, next time I move 800 miles away, I'll just ditch my pets. Because that's a good solution here.

And who are you to tell people not to travel with pets? I get that you don't like it, personally, and that's your right. But you don't know why other people are bringing along a pet--you have no right to criticize. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary, but that's me. Other people feel differently.

 

[Floridaman999]

What an awful thing to have happened.