On Monday night, a canine passed away in a plane on a United Airlines flight, after one of the flight attendants forced it into an overhead bin.
Various passengers on the plane uploaded their pleas to social media to help the dog’s owner get justice. The flight was traveling from Houston, Texas to New York.
For instance, one of the passengers named Maggie Gremminger said on Twitter:
“I want to help this woman and her daughter. They lost their dog because of a United flight attendant. My heart is broken.”
Another passenger named June Lara wrote her side of the story witnessing the horrible incident.
They noted that the dog was a “Frenchie,” just traveling with the family which included a toddler, a girl “no older than eight,” and a mother of the two kids.
June said:
“He was meant to grow, learn, cry, play with those young children and be their furry friend.
He was meant to live a long life filling that family’s days with that special joy that only a dog can bring.
I sat behind the family of three and thought myself lucky – who doesn’t when they get to sit near a puppy? However, the flight attendants of flight UA1284 felt that the innocent animal was better off crammed inside the overhead container without air and water.
They INSISTED that the puppy be locked up for three hours without any kind of airflow. They assured the safety of the family’s pet so wearily, the mother agreed.”
Today, I boarded my first United Airlines flight.On my way, I saw a Frenchie that looked identical to my own precious…
Posted by June Lara on Monday, March 12, 2018
The story is absolutely heartbreaking, and June’s account of it explains that when the plane landed, there was no sound coming from the bin where the dog was placed, and no movement as the family desperately called the puppy’s name.
June continued:
“I held her baby as the mother attempted to resuscitate their 10 month old puppy. I cried with them three minutes later as she sobbed over his lifeless body. My heart broke with theirs as I realised he was gone…
This little guy fought hard for his life, filling our flight with his cries until he finally ran out of breath.”
Some reports suggest the dog was barking during the flight, but no one even tried to check on the animal until the flight had concluded.
A United Airlines spokesperson made a futile attempt to address the incident, and said:
“This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin.
We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them. We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again.”
United Airlines has a policy about onboard pets which says that pets “must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel.”
May the little puppy rest in peace, and the family get a new puppy while remembering the one that passed away.
