Poor puppy dies on flight

With another act of negligence under its wings, United Airlines maintains its notorious reign as the most talked about airline. Previous incidents of forcefully removing passengers from seats and leaving a sexual assault victim in harm’s way are just a couple of reasons why this Airline has been generally disliked in the media. The airline’s most recent misfortune concerns that of an innocent animal. A 10-month-old French bulldog, named Kokito, boarded a flight in his doggy carrier, going from Houston to New York. The owner of the dog, who was accompanied by her young teenage daughter, and toddler, stored the TSA-approved pet carrier under the seat in front of her. A flight attendant argued with the passenger, insisting that the carrier was somewhat blocking the aisle. Trusting that the flight attendant would not willingly put the dog in a dangerous environment, the passenger agreed to store the dog and carrier in the overhead bin.

During the three-hour flight to New York, passengers heard soft barking, echoing from the compartment. Before the plane landed, the barking stopped. The owner of the dog opened the overhead storage to find her dog’s lifeless body.  The dog died from lack of airflow. Certain dogs, such as the French bulldog, have short nasal passages, and are more susceptible to suffering from scarce oxygen.

United Airlines representatives have commented on the event and assure the public that the airline’s policies do not support the actions of the flight attendant.  Pets are never allowed in the overhead bins and are only allowed in the cabin if they are housed in appropriate kennels that fit securely under the seats.

The airline is fully committed to taking full responsibility for the incident and intends to compensate the family in refunded ticket fees and a necropsy for the dog. United promises to implement strategies and policies to prevent this type of episode from happening again. Unfortunately, United Airlines is the leader in animal deaths on its flights, with 18 deaths in 2017. American Airlines and Delta Airlines had two animal deaths each last year.