Since she had the pet in a TSA approved carrier, I suspect she paid to transport it rather than trying to sneak it on free as an ESA. Which is why it is so mystifying that the cabin crew member insisted she put it in the overhead, and why she agreed to do it. One report said that the carrier was sticking out into the aisle. Ok, put it under the seat, and, if necessary, move the stuff that was under the seat into the overhead. But don’t put the dog in the overhead. And if you do put the dog in the overhead for takeoff, which you shouldn’t, don’t leave it there for the whole flight. None of this makes sense.
What is a TSA-approved pet carrier? As far as I know, each airline has its own guidelines re: carrier size. Let me guess… that carrier was hard-sided and would not fit under the seat. The FA asked to stow it away for takeoff, and the woman did not have enough brain cells to take it out as soon as the plane reached some safe altitude. You can have a suitcase on your lap for the duration of the flight, but it must be put either under the seat or in overhead bin for takeoff and landing.
Apparently it was a soft-sided carrier. Leave it to the NY Post to print a photo (don’t open the link if you don’t want to see) https://nypost.com/2018/03/13/dog-dies-after-united-flight-attendant-forces-it-into-overhead-bin/
i saw a picture of the woman before she boarded the plane with her kids, a stroller and the pet carrier. The carrier actually looks pretty big-like too big for under the seat but perhaps it was the angle of the photo… I don’t understand why, if reports are true, the flight attendant made her put the carrier overhead against United regulations. However, if the carrier didn’t fit under the seat, as required, I would think they would have refused to keep the dog onboard.
I just flew on Southwest last week. I was looking at this piece of luggage in the overhead wondering how it ever made it on board - it was definitely a large suitcase. The flight attendant came by, saw it, then immediately began calling out for the owner of the suitcase. Before anyone answered, she took the suitcase down and said, “I don’t know who this bag belongs to but you need to claim it because it needs to go into checked baggage under the plane.” Additionally, during the flight they made multiple announcements about keeping all bags, feet, children, etc out of the aisle during the flight. I’m guessing the problem with the pet carrier is that it was blocking the aisle and was too big for the passenger to fit under the seat. No matter though, it’s a terrible shame that the dog died.
I saw the photo taken before they boarded too. It is not a hard carrier. I have a very similar looking one that has a wire frame that squishes a bit if it needs to.
This reminds me of the case where an FA tried to wrestle someone’s expensive violin out of the overhead compartment, saying it wasn’t allowed. FAA regulations specifically allow it, but the FA didn’t seem to know or care.
Carry paperwork with you showing your rights, everything you paid for, and airline policy. Likely, you won’t be able to look these things up on your phone while boarding and being bullied by an overzealous FA. Fido’s life may depend on it.
The NY post printed a “before” and “after” photo 
According to what I read the woman had paid $125 for the puppy to fly in the cabin.
Oh my. Read some other articles. So sad. Yes, apparently the puppy owner was not trying to sneak the puppy in as a fake ESA and tried to follow the rules. What a sad situation… an “approved carrier” purchased online does not mean that it would fit under the seat on a given aircraft as airlines customize their seats. If I was asked to put my precious avatars in the overhead compartment mid-flight as apparently this woman was, I would have politely raised hell. I would have documented that request and opened the bag to show that there is a live being in here there. The FA was out of line - they should not have allowed the woman to board if the carrier was too big for under the seat, not ask her to put it in the overhead bin after the boarding was complete.
I don’t think the issue was that she was trying to sneak the dog on, I think it was that her bag, with dog in It, did not fit under the seat. If a bag doesn’t fit under the seat and cannot be put or does not fit in overhead storage, it either needs to be removed from the plane or checked in with the rest of bags in the cargo hold. Obviously none of those would have been ok for this passenger, so I’m guessing she felt she had no choice but to go along with the flight attendant. Whether the flight attendant knew there was a dog in the bag/carrier is the question. She claims she didn’t know but other passengers seem to think she did. Another mess for United and poor family losing their pet.
Edited to add I agree with Bunsen -I was posting at the same time.
Just don’t fly United with pets in cabin or cargo, here’s the latest
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-airlines-mistakenly-flies-kansas-bound-german-shepherd-to-japan/
I am so horrified by this. Do we know why it died? Was there no oxygen in the bin? I would have insisted that the dog stay under the seat and the carrier go overhead! I am a corporate person, and I understand that one person’s actions doesn’t always represent the corporation, but United has had situation after situation in the last year or so. I will avoid United at all costs for my travel (which I do anyway since it is a terrible airline). I’ve expressed my horror at this latest situation on Twitter.
^^ Poor dog probably suffocated. There’s no air vents in the bin.
@MomofWildChild the explanation I heard was that while the over head bins are not air tight there is no air circulation so no fresh air. The dog was a French Bull dog and it’s harder for that breed to breath because of the shape of the nose. In the over heard compartment it is pitch black and the dog was paniced and which increased his heart rate making him breath harder so he sufficated.
The FA put the carrier up there, there is no way you can pick up a soft carrier and not know there is an animal inside. The girl says she told the FA about the dog and was ignorred and the dog was barking. How could an FA not know it was a live dog? This situation makes me sick, if the mother had stood up to the FA she would have been threaten with arrest for not following the direction of the FA it was a no win situation for this family that followed all the rules and paid their fees.
A summary of airline incidents making the news in the past year:
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/air-travel-nightmares-of-2017/24/
That brave Alaska Air FA handling that snake like it is no big deal. OMG.
Thanks. Sadly, that all makes sense.
Here’s stats of animals injured/killed during flights. United transported about 140,000 animals 18 killed 13 injured in 2017. American 2 killed 1 injured of total about 35,000 transported.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/united-airlines-track-record-animal-deaths-airlines-210338233.html
Not that I’m defending United, but I don’t think “killed”is the appropriate word choice as that makes it sound as if United actually killed those animals. “Deaths” would be more appropriate as United was not necessarily at fault in all of those animals that died.
This sort of story is always incomplete.
How big was the dog? An adult Frenchie is typically 22-30 pounds, too big to fit under the seat. This dog was only 10 months so it could have been a bit smaller.
How big was the carrier? When I shopped for dog carriers for my son to take his 3 month old French Bulldog puppy on a flight I found that many of the carriers labeled “airline approved” were larger than Delta’s maximum size for in-cabin use. Did the carrier fit under the seat?
Did the airline approve the carrier? When we checked in the agent had to see that there was enough room in the carrier for the dog to turn around comfortably and that it followed airline regulations. Were this dog and carrier weighed and measured?
There’s no rule restricting passengers from putting their bags in their laps during the majority of the flight. They only need to be stowed for takeoff and landing. Why did the passenger not take the dog out of the overhead bin after the flight reached altitude? Did the FA tell her she couldn’t? If so, it would indicate the FA knew the dog was in there. If not, the passenger made a huge mistake that contributed to the dog’s death.
How many seats did the family have? Was the baby flying as a lap baby? Did that influence the mom’s decision not to take the dog down? Was there a baby bag stowed under the seat making it impossible to fit the dog there?
Were there other bags in the overhead? If so it’s possible they blocked the mesh on the dog’s bag, so that even if there was sufficient air in the compartment not enough could circulate into the dog carrier.
Who put the dog in the overhead bin? I agree with @3scoutsmom that there’s no way someone could put a soft-sided carrier with a 20 pound dog in an overhead without knowing there was a dog inside. It’s very obvious and the dog shifts its weight when you pick it up. If the passenger was the one who put the dog in the overhead I’m willing to believe the FA was distracted with boarding and didn’t pay attention when the passenger objected. She may even have thought the barking was coming from another ESA or paid pet dog on the flight. If the FA was the one who put the dog in the overhead the “I didn’t know it was in there” excuse is pure BS.
Most airlines won’t fly French Bulldogs and other brachycephalic(snub-nosed) breeds in the cargo hold because of a high risk of death due to breathing issues. In addition to difficulties with obstructed airways these breeds don’t do well in heat, exacerbating the problem.
Not sure if the family had 2 or 3 seats. Even 2 would have been enough space for the dog and a baby bag under the two seats.
They paid for the dog ($125) and you can see the tag on the carrier in the photo. If there was a problem with the carrier, it should have been diverted at bag check.
The photo shows that the carrier looks like an appropriate size, and it’s not hard bodied.
The family was returning from visiting the Dad. Presumably they flew there, but maybe not.
There were multiple witnesses that confirm the insistence on the part of the flight attendant.
Supposedly, there was turbulence for the whole flight. Buzzfeed is checking into that. Not sure if anyone keeps records.
The puppy apparently barked/whined for 2 hours.
I can say with total confidence that if I had been there I would have intervened and demanded that he be taken down and held on someone’s lap. My lap, if necessary. The mother was probably afraid that if she objected they would be physically thrown off the flight with her children. She was travelling with a baby, which is stressful enough. Someone needed to stand up to the bully for her and the puppy.
BTW, the airline now admits that the FA knew there was a dog in the carrier.