A woman is blaming United Airlines for the death of her Golden Retriever. The dog was transported on board a United Airlines flight from Detroit to Portland. A 1-hour layover at Chicago turned to 20 hours after the dog's crate did not fit on the connecting flight.
The woman is a Michigan native named Kathleen Considine who posted what happened on Facebook, recently moved from Michigan to Portland. The dog was a 7-year-old healthy golden retriever named Jacob, an 80-pound canine, reports Fox News.
By the time Jacob landed on Portland, however, Considine alleges that Jacob was disoriented and no longer responding, despite having undergone and passed a physical test less than 24 hours before the flight. She took Jacob to an emergency veterinarian, but by the time they arrived, Jacob was hardly breathing. After being given CPR for several minutes, Jacob dog was declared dead. The vet diagnosed the cause of death as stomach flip, an illness that cuts off blood flow to the organs. It is often caused by meal problems, stress, or both.
"After his three hour journey to central Oregon, Jacob was still non-responsive, and getting worse. My very best friend who I was expecting to trample me with kisses barely even acknowledged my existence." said Considine.
United PR manager Charlie Hobart confirmed that airline staff in Chicago were not able to fit the dog on the second leg of the flight because the original crate size had been identified as a much smaller specification. He also said that an agent in Detroit mistakenly informed the customer that they would be able to get that crate on the next flight.
United says they informed Considine that her dog would be made to stay at a kennel until they could find a place on the next plane to Portland. It took 20 hours before the golden retriever was brought back in flight, but Hobart insists that the dog received the proper food and care during his stay at the Chicago PetSafe facility.
United says it flies over 200,000 pets yearly through its PetSafe program. According to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics, 70 animals have died while flying United from May 2005 through Nov. 2015.
