United Airlines Kills a Dog

[hopemax]

Most of the time when a dog stops crying it's because he's finally settled down, not because he's suffocated and died. And if you think the anxious, barking dog has finally settled down, I can see why one might be less inclined to open the bin and check on him just to get him riled up again. I don't think anyone in this situation was being willfully negligent to an animal in a dangerous situation, because they didn't realize it was a dangerous situation. What they're guilty of is trusting the flight attendant to know her job and follow proper protocol.

I mean more how did the dog get in the overhead bin in the first place. Or once people could hear a dog in the overhead bin, how could they sit there and think "this is normal procedure." I get how the owner could be overwhelmed and didn't want to get kicked off. But no frequent traveler, with a clearer head can't look at the situation and not think, "this isn't right, lets at least get another FA over here?"

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Sorry, but when you have a pet, you are responsible for it.

If I didn't know about the safety of something, I would ask. I would investigate. And I certainly wouldn't shove my dog into the overhead compartment unless I was sure that it was safe.

Now, the flight attendant should have known better. And I am sure that the airline will take responsibility. But if I were the family, I would always know that my dog died because I put him in the overhead compartment.

I totally agree with your first sentence. Animals have been a huge part of my entire life, in both a personal and professional sense, and I'm one of the most devoted pet owners you could ever meet. But I also understand that bad things can happen even when people have the best intentions and are doing their best. If this passenger didn't have reason to believe the overhead bin was unsafe then, to her knowledge, she wasn't putting her pet in an unsafe position. She was traveling with her dog contained safely in an airline-approved carrier, had him flying in the cabin instead of the cargo hold, and was following flight attendant orders. Seems like a fairly responsible pet owner to me. I can't blame her for not having the forethought -- while also juggling two children, one being a newborn -- to second guess whether the flight attendant knew how to do her job, nor any reason to think she was the first passenger with a pet to whom this flight attendant had ever given this instruction. I can imagine her taking an extra minute to make sure the dog's carrier was as secure as possible in the bin to keep it from sliding around, then taking her seat feeling reasonably comfortable that he was safe. I'm sorry she's going to have to feel this blame for the rest of her life.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I’m not a pet owner abd would’ve thought the dog would be fine in the overheard compartment as long as we didn’t hit turbulence. I wouldn’t have spoken up because i thought it would’ve been fine. If the dog stopped crying i would’ve thought it went to sleep and calmed down.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I mean more how did the dog get in the overhead bin in the first place. Or once people could hear a dog in the overhead bin, how could they sit there and think "this is normal procedure." I get how the owner could be overwhelmed and didn't want to get kicked off. But no frequent traveler, with a clearer head can't look at the situation and not think, "this isn't right, lets at least get another FA over here?"

I think it just comes down to two things: 1) Even if he was barking, a small dog + closed bin + loud plane... I can imagine few people even knew he was on the fight, let alone been able to pinpoint the barking as coming from overhead. 2) Those who did know he was there didn't realize the overhead was dangerous and the flight attendant was smoking crack that day. Just look at how many people on this thread admitted to not immediately seeing the danger of it, myself included.

 

[robinb]

Poor pupper . Poor family . This is just so sad.

 

[Albort]

No, it's not the same at all. This woman presumably had no idea her dog would die from being put in the overhead bin. She didn't opt to kill her dog. Honestly, until reading this story I would've assumed the biggest issue with putting an animal overhead would be the risk of it getting injured from being jostled around. I didn't know those bins were airtight. Heck, even you aren't sure what's so dangerous about the overhead bin that would've killed the dog. Temperature, lack of ventilation, other?

I can't blame the passenger at all on this one.

honestly, i did kinda find it difficult that a dog would suffocate in an overhead bin. but someone shined some light saying its possible due to the breed.

French Bulldogs have short snouts and the soft palate is often too large for its mouth and can swell up when the dog is overheating. They often develop problems breathing regardless of stress, and can often go into cardiac arrest. So it's not unthinkable that stress, lack of oxygen, and the dog breed itself (which people really shouldn't be buying or breeding but that's another rant!) created this scenario.

 

[sailorstitch]

First a teacher feeds a live puppy to a snapping turtle and now THIS!

 

[LSUmiss]

Makes me so angry to think that puppy suffered like that! No way I would have complied!!! They can put me in jail!

 

[Snowysmom]

I feel so bad for the poor dog. I would not have placed my dog in the overhead bin no matter what the flight attendant said. The flight attendant needs to be fired. The dog lover in me would like to see how the flight attendant would like to ride in the overhead bin for 3 hours. Absolutely appalling,

 

[LSUmiss]

First a teacher feeds a live puppy to a snapping turtle and now THIS!

Wait what???!

 

[sam_gordon]

Does anyone know how/where the dog SHOULD have traveled? The carrier wouldn’t fit under the seat (at least that’s how it looks to me) and the passenger wouldn’t be allowed to hold it (I’m guessing), so what should have happened?

 

[lifesavacation]

First a teacher feeds a live puppy to a snapping turtle and now THIS!

I read that today in the news and was disgusted. I can’t believe anyone would do something so inhumane and do it in front of children.

 

[Albort]

Does anyone know how/where the dog SHOULD have traveled? The carrier wouldn’t fit under the seat (at least that’s how it looks to me) and the passenger wouldn’t be allowed to hold it (I’m guessing), so what should have happened?

from what i gathered, the bag was a airline approved bag. If it wasnt, id probably sue the hell out of the bag company.
if that doesnt work, id assume it goes below deck in the cargo hold. planes have a certain compartment that regulates the air and heat to transport pets.

 

[klacey1]

I feel so bad for the poor dog. I would not have placed my dog in the overhead bin no matter what the flight attendant said. The flight attendant needs to be fired. The dog lover in me would like to see how the flight attendant would like to ride in the overhead bin for 3 hours. Absolutely appalling,

Right?? I don't understand how anyone could possibly think an overhead bin was a place for a living creature. I would have deplaned and worked with the gate agents until a reasonable solution was reached.

 

[sailorstitch]

Wait what???!

It was a headline I saw on Yahoo today. I couldn't bring myself to read the article. You'll have to Google it.

 

[belleatdisney]

I just read the puppy fed to turtle story. This guy is still teaching. Have we collectively lost our minds that parents are condoning this as "circle of life". Disgusting.

 

[Poohforyou]

Sorry, but the owner has to take responsibility here. They'd be dragging my dog and me off the plane if I was told to do that.

The flight attendant is an idiot and should be disciplined according to company policy but the owner needs to shoulder this as well.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Does that bag (carrier) fit under the seat? What should happen if a pet carrier doesn't fit under the seat? You're not allowed to hold it in your lap, right?

Those bags are supposed to be able to fit under the seat. I didn't read what type of plane it was, but a United Houston to La Guardia flight most likely wasn't one of those smaller 50 seat jobs where it might not fit. If indeed the carrier truly didn't fit under the seat after United approved bringing the dog aboard, United should have put it in the cargo hold, not instruct the passenger to place it in the overhead bin.

This is woman who apparently did everything right. Pay for the dog to travel as a pet and not falsely claim it to be an emotional support animal. Have it in an approved carrier. Follow flight attendant instructions.

Quite a shame.

First a teacher feeds a live puppy to a snapping turtle and now THIS!

Wait what???!

Believe me, if you haven't read the story yet, you don't want to know.

 

[Poohforyou]

Does anyone know how/where the dog SHOULD have traveled? The carrier wouldn’t fit under the seat (at least that’s how it looks to me) and the passenger wouldn’t be allowed to hold it (I’m guessing), so what should have happened?

The owner should have been required to have the dog in an FAA approved carrier for under the seat. Our soft sided car carrier is FAA approved. It looks like a small duffel bag with mesh sides. If the carrier wouldn't fit she shouldn't have been allowed on the plane.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Believe me, if you haven't read the story yet, you don't want to know.

I wish I could unsee it but all the local news are picking up the story. It's impossible to avoid the headline when scrolling the local news' websites. Disturbing to say the least IMO.