Seven dogs dead after American Airlines flight

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Authorities were investigating the deaths of seven dogs after an American Airlines flight to Chicago.

Flight 851 was an hour late taking off from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tuesday morning, according to Mary Frances Fagan, director of corporate communications for American Airlines. The flight arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport at 8:54 a.m. with 14 dog kennels on board.

All the dogs on Flight 851 were "bound for other locations," Fagan said. When ramp workers began the process of moving the dogs to the other flights, they noticed the animals looked "lethargic." They tried to cool them down. The animals were taken from the airport to a veterinarian, Fagan said. Seven dogs later died.

The incident was under investigation. The dogs are being necropsied. The airline said it has drawn no conclusions on what happened.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/08/04/illinois.airline.dog.deaths/index.html

[ericinne]

1. It's obvious

They must have fed them airline food.

[DesertFlower]

2. animals do not belong in the

baggage department.

[northernlights]

3. not in a million years

could you get me to put my dogs -- or any other animals -- in an airline's cargo hold. I can't imagine how awful it must be for them there. Given the poor track record of losing dogs and dogs dying in transit, I cannot begin to imagine how any furparent would entrust their furbaby to those incompetents. x( x( x(

I never know who to be more disgusted with -- the airlines, or the owners who are foolish enough to entrust their dogs to those killers. x(

[xultar]

8. Emergencies happen. I've had to fly my pets before so never say never.

When I take one pet they fly with me.

But in an emergency, yes, I've had to fly them. I'm thankful that I was able to do it. I just hope you never have an emergency like that.

[northernlights]

13. I cannot imagine any emergency that would require that my dogs get on a plane.

If they can't ride with me, we don't fly. period.

[Critters2]

16. Yep. I board 'em until I can get back, or we drive.

I would no more put my pets in the cargo hold of a plane than I'd put 'em in a semi trailer.

[xultar]

17. If you are trying to get to see someone before they die and you are going

to stay for a while afterward to take care of business...which requires you to bring your pets.

That is unless you don't care to see the person before they die. Then you can just take your time and maybe not see them or maybe not make the funeral.

[northernlights]

36. I would board my pets or drive

or not see the person before they die.

But I would not trust my fur or feather family to an airline in any circumstance.

[lse7581011]

60. Agree!

100%. I would no more put my animals in the cargo hold than a kid!

[Gormy Cuss]

56. Try relocating abroad. You can't bring them in the cabin and no one can drive them.

Your choices come down to finding new homes for all of them (traumatizing them in the process) or doing your best to assure their safety and minimize that short term trauma while flying.

Sometimes there is no perfect solution.

[fleabert]

58. glad i have a small dog!

i flew my dog to the UAE, despite a 'law' forbidding it, in cabin. got special permission from the Ministry overseeing pet import. I refused to take no for an answer and she was at my feet the entire 21 hrs- did the same to bring her back to the states. she never left my sight.

[Gormy Cuss]

59. That was fortunate.

Not everyone can pull that off. One of my family members not only had to make the choice about flying the animal abroad but also had to leave the cat in quarantine for months after arrival (the cat had daily visits from his humans.) The cat came through with flying colors on the trip there and a few years later when they relocated back to the states. It was still a hard decision.

[Lightning Count]

57. This is personal for me.

My fiance and I have flirted with the idea of moving to Japan, but we have three dogs. I can't imagine we'd leave them in the US. I would not fly American Airlines though.

[femmocrat]

4. That is just heart-breaking.

When we purchased our latest puppy, she arrived by plane. I was a nervous wreck all day. She was so tiny and came so far all by herself!

I really thought they had corrected the (previous) problems with shipping animals by plane. I hope they find out the cause so they can fix it.

[northernlights]

15. the cause is that pets are "baggage"

that is the cause.

Fortunately for me, I don't buy dogs. I rescue them. So I don't have to worry about them flying anywhere.

[enlightenment]

41. You really are being pretty sanctimonious, aren't you?

You put your pets before anything or anyone and will never allow yourself to be placed in a situation that would require you to do otherwise. That's great. Really. I'm impressed by your love and dedication to your pets.

That doesn't give you a right to judge others. Just because your life allows you to make the decisions you make, it doesn't make you a better person.

[northernlights]

48. um, you're the one judging (and name calling), not me

Veterinarians (including the one interviewed in one of the articles about this) strongly recommend NOT putting your animals in baggage/cargo holds. I guess that makes them sanctimonious and judgemental too, right?

I didn't comment on what anybody else chooses to do. I said what I refuse to do. It's no different than arranging your life to have a home for your kids or pets if you should happen to die. You either put others lives ahead of your convenience or you don't. What you do is your choice. What they suffer or don't suffer is a result of that.

As to my life "allowing" me to make such decisions, I was supposed to be an illegal abortion. My parents used to go away for weekends and leave me locked out in the street. My (wealthy) father embezzled money from his company by claiming me as a 1099 employee, kept the "wages" and stuck me with the tax bill along with jail threats from the IRS. His 1st child, daddie's little girl, told me she hated me, has always hated me and will always hate me. But before you go thinking it's because I'm so judgemental and sanctimonious, she assured me that after years of therapy she realized it was her and her sibling rivalry, not anything I had done. (You know, like offering her every cent I had when she ran into financial troule.)

So yeah, uh, my life has "allowed" me to make such choices because I know what it is to be abandoned and left to die. I'm so sanctimonious and judgemental that when I saw a runaway toddler about to get hit by a car, I judged the people standing right there and ignoring her to be self-centered assholes and I ran across the street in front of the car and saved her life. But that's the kind of choices judgemental, sanctimonious people make, I guess. :eyes:

Oh, and welcome to ignore...asshole.

[secondwind]

5. People need to keep reminding the airline that they have a pet in the baggage

compartment! If not, the airline will not pressurize the baggage compartment!

Many pets have died because the baggage compartment was not "pressurized".........

So sad. :(

[Robbien]

10. These pups probably died from heat. The flight was delayed and sat

on the tarmac. By the time it left, the outside temperature exceeded legal limits for animal transport.

[LisaL]

44. When I flew my cat cargo the airline did not have any

temperature limits for animal transport. The area is supposed be temperature controlled, I presume.

[xultar]

6. guys, the dogs don't fly with the BAGGAGE. there is another separate area

that they fly in that is pressurized.

Yes, it is below but it isn't with the bags.

Also, I don't think anyone here will understand this. I've had to fly my cats and my pups a couple of times.
Some times you have to. There are emergencies, things happen.

So don't go flipping out. My Chihuahua Megabyte died before Christmas one year and I contacted a breeder in CA and they were able to fly my sweetheart Onyx out for me. I wouldn't have been able to make it without a pup that Christmas.
The only way I could get Onyx was by plane and I thank God that I was able to receive him because I couldn't fly out and get him and no one could drive.

[a la izquierda]

9. if i move to europe...

i'm not sure how the dogs will get there. my one guy doesn't like the water.:shrug:
if i don't have to fly them, i won't. but there are times when one does not have any options. i understand what you're saying.

[Critters2]

18. Really? There were no dogs in shelters needing homes near you?

Puhleeze. You sound like a spoiled child. And, like a spoiled child, you put your wants before your dog's needs.

Dogs should not be flown!!

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

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[xultar]

25. I have currently 6 Adopted pets. I can't believe you'd dis me after i lost my dog!

That is fucking cold.

[Critters2]

27. Yeah, whatever. People who love animals don't treat them like inanimate objects.

Period.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

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[xultar]

22. WTF is with the shelters bit anyway. You yack a lot but what have you done?

[Critters2]

24. I've never forced an animal to fly in a cargo hold, for one. nt

[xultar]

26. YOU'D DIS A HEARTBROKEN PERSON THAT LOST THEIR PET 4 DAYS BEFORE XMAS?

I wouldn't care to know your kind after finding that out about you.

Please never talk to me again on DU.

[Critters2]

28. And then you just replaced it with another pet.

You gonna do that with your spouse, too?

[xultar]

30. If I were married to you. ABSOFUCKING LOOTELY

[Critters2]

32. ...

:rofl:

[Lucky Luciano]

38. LOL

:rofl:

[aquart]

50. Exactly. I went from putting David to sleep in my arms directly to the shelter.

And tempted Lucky out of his cage into the carrier with catnip.

As a long-time rescuer, I don't let ten minutes go by before helping another animal. As soon as there's a vacancy, somebody has a new home.

And it is ridiculous to talk about "replacing". Nobody can replace David who was insane from trauma for the first ten years of his life, but by the time he died trusted me so much that he jumped into my lap when I held up the apparatus that put fluids under his skin.

Lucky is scared of rain and wind and thunder. When a storm is coming he starts clinging to my lap, even as much as the day before. He isn't "replacing" David. He is upholding the tradition of shelter in my home.

[Walk away]

45. +1000

[Kali]

34. OFFS

animals are flown all the fucking time, it is not cruel, this was a freak HEAT RELATED accident ON THE GROUND

[Dappleganger]

37. Geez.

:eyes:

[Walk away]

40. My animals safety is more important than me having a Christmas puppy. nt .

When I love a pet or a person it's all about them and less about me.

[Lorien]

43. Yep. I've had to fly my cats across the Country as well

If I ever had to do it again I'd make sure that I took them with me as carry on baggage. They were supposed to be brought to as such many years ago by some family friends, but they checked them instead. The kitties had shed out much of their fur and were covered in drool when I picked them up. I'd buy them their own seat before I'd put them in the belly of the plane again.

[mopinko]

53. I have had to fly dogs a few times. i think delta is the best.

but you are right. the are not in with the suitcases. they are in a purpose built compartment.
this is news because pet fly safely every day.

[booksenkatz]

7. Back in 1987, I flew my 3 cats non-stop from TX to FL

I will never, ever, ever, ever do that again, period. Their condition upon arrival was absolutely appalling, and one was near death after that one plane ride. The vet saved him. It's hard to forgive myself when I think of what they must have experienced with noises, strangers, physical discomfort.

When we relo'd from FL to MI in 1995, we rented a van and drove all of the animals (non-stop)! A very pleasant experience for everyone.

Those poor little dogs. It makes me sick to think about it. After what I went through that one time, I can't stand to think of animals in cargo. It's bad enough in the cabin!

[Arugula Latte]

12. We drove two kitties 3,000 miles across country rather than put them on a plane.

We made them a "kitty condo" in the backseat of the car so we could keep our eye on them, make sure they had food and water and a litterbox, and comfort them as best we could. One kitty loved the car ride and the other needed a little kitty downer to get her through, but they arrived in Oregon in fine shape.

[EFerrari]

14. I'm right there with you. Never in a million years

would I trust my animals to unseen people like that. It would be impossible. If they can't go with me where I can monitor them, we don't go. That's it.

[Critters2]

19. I've flown one cat, years ago, and that was only because he could

be in the cabin with me. He was sedated, and small enough to go in an under-the-seat carrier. The flight attendants and passengers around me were very kind about letting me check on him regularly. But I would've driven if he had had to go in the cargo hold.

[LisaL]

46. Most airlines only allow one pet per person in cabin, so for

people with multiple pets it's not an option to bring them all in cabin.

[Walk away]

47. Check out registering your pet as an Emotional Support Dog or Cat....

Airlines are having to make exceptions. A couple with a Pomeranian just won a big law suit in my area. They had a note from their Dr. and they had registered their dog (cost $35 for E.S.D. laminated tags) and they were turned down for a rental because of the dog.

I know it's true because my best friend was the real estate agent involved. Although she was only the go between she was named in the suit and it cost her company plenty in legal fees.

[LisaL]

42. I flew my cat cargo and he was fine.

It was in August and very hot. The cargo where pets are put is supposed to be temperature regulated.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

49. The problem is the wait on the tarmac when the cabin pressurization isn't working.

The pets are at the mercy of the elements.

My dad worked for American Airlines for 34 years. Pops didn't say much but he DID say NEVER EVER check your pets.

[LisaL]

51. He flew different airline, not AA.

They must have figured out how to keep the temperature controlled, because the airline had no heat limits at which pets aren't allowed to fly as cargo.
And it was very hot but the cat flew fine and nothing happened to him.

[harun]

54. I brought my cat in the cabin with me. One of the worst experiences of my life.

I was going from LV to Philadelphia. Will never do it again. Will drive them if I have to across country.

There are hundreds of ways the airlines could do this better.

[booksenkatz]

61. Could you elaborate? I've often wondered about that.

My two main concerns about that would be:
1. I've had cats whose incessant yowling/screaming/meowing would have irked everyone on board. The cats could not abide being in a carrier for even a short period of time. Cats are stressed, fellow passengers are stressed.
2. My cats taking a crap, fouling the air and making everyone sick. How do you control that? Starve the cat for 24 hours? Again, the cats are stressed, fellow passengers are stressed.

For me, driving animals is definitely the way to go, whenever possible!

[harun]

62. Had the cat in a cloth/mesh carrier

I put it under the seat in front of me. She was meowing but it is noisy on the plane that most people didn't hear it. A couple of times it was loud enough and people looked around and asked if anyone else heard that. I gave the cat some stuff to make it calm, didn't work very well though. Cat never relieved itself, that would have made a HORRIBLE situation even worse.

I can only say find a way to drive it. Unless you got one hell of a well behaved pet that is small and used to being in a carrier and not throwing a fit. My cat (and dog) is neither.

They also charge you a lot of extra money to take it on. Not like they do anything for it or it takes up any more space. There is no way I would ever do it again.

[LibGranny]

11. Dogs found dead ....

FYI - I live in Kansas and the heat index yesterday was 115 and it was even hotter in Oklahoma. Those poor animals probably died from heat exhaustion!

[Critters2]

21. Heat indexes in the Chicago area were between 95 and 110 today.

I have no doubt they died of heat exhaustion. A really horrible way to go. Poor pups!

[xultar]

33. I alerted on myself in this thread. Sorry for messing it up for you guys.

[Kali]

35. 9 human beings died from the heat too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4492251

[Walk away]

39. www.petairways.com is a pet airlines. They don't fly everywhere.....

but they are adding routes. If you have a small dog consider registering him as an Emotional Support Dog.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

55. There are also reasonably priced, reputable ground

transport options for dogs. One runs out of TN and has routes all up and down the east coast. They are primarily used by rescue groups, but do offer private transport

http://www.petsllc.net/about.php

[bitchkitty]

52. Horrible.

I would not be able to live with myself if I put my baby on a plane and he died from something like this.

I couldn't think of a reason good enough to put my dog on a plane, and that would include a funeral or to be at someone's deathbed. If that someone knows me and loves me, they know and love my dog, and would not want me to put him in danger.

He's the best friend I've ever had.