The unfortunate incident brings to mind the serious risks pets face when traveling, especially in the extreme heat of Hawaii summers, and how airport and airline policies may need to change when temperatures soar.
The unfortunate incident brings to mind the serious risks pets face when traveling, especially in the extreme heat of Hawaii summers, and how airport and airline policies may need to change when temperatures soar.
How unfortunate. The ice didn’t help… ice water actually has the reverse effect for hot dogs. It closes the capillaries and has the reverse effect. It’s best to give room temp water and cool rags on paws. This is very sad.
I am terribly sorry for your loss. I Am A Dog Owner , and would never travel with a pet. I just will not ever understand how one individual could not go anywhere without their pet glued to their side. They are dogs, they are animals, and they can survive without their owners. yes, they become our family, our babies, our support, but they are not people and when people start realizing that dogs are animals not human, life will be more normal. If not, they have other issues to handle in life that animals will never replace.
Sandi, are you familiar with ESD? These dogs do support their humans. ADA laws include verbiage every blend should be familiar with ‘you cannot ask what the service dog is for nor can you ask what the person needs the service dog for’. Please be kinder in your response in the future. Many of our hero service members ie veterans have service dogs for many reasons. Blessings to you, I hope you never find yourself in need of their support. The people were vacationing with their dogs they were traveling with them, because they were moving from Hawaii back to the mainland. They were commendable for not just throwing their dogs away into a system that is over flowing with pets who have been discarded for one reason or another.
Sandi etal
Sorry my answer was harsh. In my medical practice we work with people of all abilities and it hits a nerve when people judge before they know the situation. “Walk a mile in their shoes”… If a person needs to bring their ESA with them we don’t ask any inappropriate questions. Yes they are connected to their pet/companion, and cannot leave them without consequences. 🦮🐕🐕🦺. To correct myself and fat fingers they weren’t on vacation they were relocating.
It doesn’t seem sandi wasn’t talking about service dogs, service dogs/ponies do not fly in carriers. they are talking about animals of every other kinds, as in just pets and emotional support animals. none of which need to be on planes in hot weather, with medical/physical problems. If you are moving, then travel either by car, train or if you have to fly do it in late fall, winter or early spring. I do believe if an animal is in question of is it a service dog or just an emotional dog then yes there should be a shown certificate stating it is a true service animal. that only states its qualified and not an emotional dog. we get way too many aggressive dogs brought into my job(hospital) saying they are service dogs(not) when we all know service animals are not aggressive, bark at people, wet the floors etc.
According to the article I read, they were moving back to Oregon.
Sue the crap out of the airline. They’ll settle and a new dog will be had.
Yeah, right! It’s advice like this that makes life so challenging for others when people are not responsible for their actions and want others to pay.
no. they could have easily took their obviously having a medical situation pet out and cared for it by taking it to the vet but choose not to. no one forced them to leave it in distress and no one forced them to travel in hot weather. my pets health is way more important then flying when I shouldnt at that time.
I am sorry for the loss, but bulldogs are well known to have breathing problems due to their short snouts. There is a myriad of other things about bulldogs which complicate their ability to breathe. But, I don’t see a need to provide “special treatment” for a bulldog as compared to another flying pet. If this was so concerning to the owners, they should have had their own veterinarian on that flight with the animal. Now, the owners are claiming, figuratively, Alaska Airlines should have had a veterinarian on call for their animal? It happens, rarely, get over it & move on!
That is so so sad regardless of the legal implications. Thinking about the pup suffering is so sad. Airlines should encourage flying pets in the cooler evening hours during the summers and during daylight in the winters. Five hours is a very long flight even for children. My friend always buys a ticket for her little pup. She just relocated from Maui to Maryland.
Why are they flying with dogs in the first place?
Why is it relevant ?
People, you know humans, need to take some responsibility. I wonder if she consulted a vet before she decided to take the dog? Dogs ( ie:livestock) were not created to travel in tubes at 40K feet. If i ran an airline I would have passenger with pets, sign a release.
Airlines are busy transporting People and cargo. While at the same time, babysitting adults when they cause trouble.
Sad for the lose … But it is the pet owners responsibility… not the airlines. I have flown on planes with dogs not in carriers. I did not feel safe.. you never know when a dog decides it wants to attack. I’m so glad airlines make you keep your pets in carriers. Only a real working, traind dog should be on short leash at all times . Dogs are not children, or people…. also some of us have pet allergies. I pay for my ticket . I should not have to suffer… maybe they should have planes for animals transport only
Those dogs have a problem breathing on the ground with no stress. Some pets do not travel well …. Mahalo J.M.
Of course, many things have changed over the years including rules regarding pet transportation. When I moved from Honolulu I took two adult cats with me. In those days, animals were not allowed to travel in the cabin. They were relegated to the cargo hold which is pressurized and air conditioned. My cats made it across the Pacific just fine and led healthy lives. My vet didn’t want to give them sedatives because of occasional abnormalities with different cats reactions.
Things have changed and pet populations have exploded with people treating them like humans. I agree however that those cute pugs have been over bred therefore causing pulmonary problems associated with heat and stress.
I might even skipped the flight. But the worst case I heard was united f a. forcing a dog in the overhead. He cried til he suffocated. They said the lady tried to complain but her English was bad. Not One person on that plane said a word! People need to stop burying their heads for fear of “butting in” and that animal would be alive. United barely apologized. I will never get on one of their planes.
I feel very sorry for the dog owners. You can tell in their comments that they are very upset losing a pet and how they feel about the situation. However as many have pointed out, this breed of dog is known to have breathing and temperature issues. Many people suffer from asthma and allergies. We have all heard of friendly dogs that have attacked children or adults even when on leash. Times have changed and now you cannot bring peanut butter into schools. I am sorry but unless the animals are certified service animals, they should be placed in cargo or left at home (less stressful for everyone)
This is indeed tragic, but the owners might have planned ahead to avoid this sad outcome. Moving from Hawaii, they should have been well aware of how poorly brachycephalic breeds handle hot environments. A simple cooling device, such as a towel soaked in cool water placed on the dog while in his carrier could have helped. They could have been prepared to re-soak the towel in cold water without removing the dog from the container.
I feel bad for them, that being said I have a Frenchie and I would Never bring her to a hot climate. And I probably wouldn’t fly with her either. We have a wonderful Pet Sitter!
Unfortunately this family was moving from Hawaii to Oregon,
These poor dogs are inbred for these deformities. It never had a chance. I wouldn’t blame the airline for this.
I find too often that people who don’t push the rules or think for themselves now have to know they coulda woulda shoulds have done more than read the airlines rules off their 3×5 card they had memorized. I am sure the poor owners really appreciated that they took extra good care of them for the rest of the flight…thats insulting!
Frenchies are known to have trouble in heat and breathing due to their short nose’s, it was not a 40 pound pit…to that flight attendant…use your head and do the right thing…God help us if there is time in the flight we all would depending on her to Not read her 3×5 card!! But use the common sense God gave her.
Airlines should be held responsible. Owners need to be more agressive in asserting their rights, especially when it appears the animal is in distress. Alaska has been generally more accepting on their pet policies, than others. Unfortunately, there has been so much abuse of pet rules by passengers that airlines don’t give employees any discretion. For service animals, Hawaiian (my usual airline) from my personal experience is one of the worst (at HNL, not on-board), treating the disabled passenger as a potential criminal by demeaning personal interrogations of the passenger AND (by phone) his doctor, even denying boarding of disabled passengers with service animals.
Bottom Line: Nobody wants to see an animal die because of “Rules”. However, airlines need to treat their employees better and allow them common sense discretion for non-safety procedures.
In a perfect world yes, but unfortunately will never happen due to legal liability and lawyers / litigation. At some point it is the owner’s who have to decide, based on the existing rules, what is safe for their own pet or not. The legal system will never allow it to be left to individual employees to decide case by case or even the airline. A lot of what happens at HNL is the airport authority (or any airport), which is run by the state and they have a lot of rules as well, in addition to the airlines, all based on legal liability.
The whole system is broken. Getting pets to and from the islands needs to be easier and safer. I looked into flying private I was so scared for our 85 lb baby. But it was $55K. Way out of our league. I blame the governments needless rules for leaving the dogs in the kennels for so long.
This is sad and unfortunate. Brachycephalic dogs like Frenchies don’t travel well to begin with and have challenges breathing, high anxiety levels and altitude make it worse. If they say folks can take dogs out of carriers the first dog that bites someone else or pees on the plane / people the next step is no dogs in the cabin. Airlines leave it to the owners to decide if the dog can handle being in a carrier for an extended length of time at altitude, asking for airlines to regulate the decision is a slippery slope with likely unintended consequences, such as no Frenchies at all (some airlines have restrictions on Brachycephalic dogs like Frenchies). Metal airplanes cook on the ground in the sun and air conditioning isn’t full up until the engines are running at higher power. Flying with a Frenchie is pretty risky, but if the dog is in distress already stressed/overheating in the terminal, altitude and being under a seat make it worse, hopefully others consider that.
Hi Jay.
Thanks for that insight!
Aloha.
This is a very sad situation that happened. I’m not sure what the answer is but there needs to be something changed for those persons that travel with pets . From the story a few things led to the tragedy.
I am a dog lover and owner of a dog for many years.
I have also endured loss of my dogs over the years. In as much as I love to take my dogs with me as I travel, often to Hawaii,
I believe my dogs are happier in their own territory at all times .unlike humans ,dogs are animals who don’t plan on vacations.
If I take my dog on my vacations it is for my comfort zone not my 🐕 dog had a choice.
Agreed, but according to the article, the family was moving from Hawaii to the mainland.
How sad to lose a pet. however, a few points here: We just brought our 3 cats from Kona to San Diego on Alaska. They were treated very well. The reservation form to ship animals specifically restricts cats and dogs to non- brachycephalic, meaning no pugs, bulldogs, or persian flat faced animals. this article noted a bulldog, and should not have been allowed to ship. These animals have a hard time breathing when in a constrained or challenging environment. also, we had huge containers for each cat. did this dog have a container big enough to stand with 4 inches extra etc?
Hi Phyllis.
Thanks.
Aloha.
Question: do you think the dog would have faired better if it was placed below in the cargo area where it tends to be cooler? I am just curious. This is such a sad situation.
I travel frequently with medium size dogs to dog shows on the mainland. I have not yet had a dog in distress on a plane or in the airport. The airport terminal and the airplane are air-conditioned. If the dog is required to be cooler than the ambient air, the owner is responsible for that, not the airport or the airline. The dog and passengers should not have boarded knowing the dog was already in distress in the terminal. How would it get better on a plane for 6 hours? People need to take responsibility for their actions or inactions. I deeply sympathize with their loss but blaming others won’t help. If anything, it’ll make things harder for those of us who travel frequently with dogs. And Alaska Airlines’ dog transport policies are the best in the industry.
The dog should not have boarded the flight if it was already in distress at the boarding area. If you had a child struggling to breathe would you insist on taking the child on the plane and asking for ice to cool the child off? No, you’d go straight to a medical professional!
And, while you may be correct about folks caring for their own dogs, these folks were moving, not hopping to and from unnecessary ( certainly for the dogs!) “shows”. I wouldn’t put any pet in a “show” for a ribbon much less drag them across the ocean for it.
So sorry to hear that this little fur baby was lost. We know your pain having sent many over of our own over the rainbow bridge. We also understand that each has a special place in our hearts. The hindsight of it all will never change this outcome. Maybe addressing the need to keep cooling products (there are many on the market) like a gel cooling mats or vests for example in their carriers should be added to the 3×5 card. As Hawaii is not very friendly or accommodating for pets I applaud people for taking their pets with them when moving off island. So many are left behind at the shelters which are overflowing. Sad, sad, sad all the way around.
Hawaii is not friendly with pets or accomodating pets.
What? Please exolain.