Who Should Pay For A Dog That Dies On A Flight!

[Tysonrox]

I bought a dog it was one year old.

When I collected him, he had died on the flight?

It was only an hour flight, the airport told me nothing went wrong on the flight.

I had him autopsied, and they said he ran out of air.

But they said it was common for a flat face breed.

This dog had flown alot without any problems?

I am now out of pocket with no dog!

Does anyone one know what I can do?

[conztruct]

I bought a dog it was one year old.

When I collected him, he had died on the flight?

It was only an hour flight, the airport told me nothing went wrong on the flight.

I had him autopsied, and they said he ran out of air.

But they said it was common for a flat face breed.

This dog had flown alot without any problems?

I am now out of pocket with no dog!

Does anyone one know what I can do?

I'm so sorry - it's really very sad.

Was your dog insured? That would probably be the first road I'd go down if it's in play. If no insurance well, it's probably going to be tough but if it was me, I'd be talking to their airline - if they take dogs on the flight and take your money for it then they have some duty of care for it during transit.

I'm sure it's the last thing you feel like doing now but realistically you've probably got a few very lengthy phone calls in front of you if you're looking for some resolution.

[ellz]

So sorry for your loss.

Take it up with the airline. Sadly, you aren't the first person to have this happen and unless I am sorely mistaken, you won't be the last.

[indigirl]

How awful for you

I have flown many dogs without a problem so sounds like something definately went wrong and the dog suffocated. RIP doggie

Edited November 10, 2010 by indigirl

[GeckoTree]

All I can think is to get legal advise about it, airlines should have a duty of care regarding animal transport surely? Otherwise they would have made you sign a waiver.

Rip Dog.

I feel very sorry for you Emmeline

Edited November 10, 2010 by -GT-

[Bullbreedlover]

Airlines have a massive care of duty when they fly animals around the world or local.

One reason why some airlines now do not fly certain breeds. There are too many poor dogs dying.

I personally would be getting some assistance from a lawyer. One that is conversant with this type of problem

Without knowing the full facts one can only assume that the cargo hold the dog was placed in was not monitored nor air conditioned.

I do know that pilots must be informed of live cargo on board so necessary precautions can be made.

Also the live cargo handling area must be taken to task as to their handling proceedures and paperwork etc

So sorry for your loss

[Shazzapug]

These same thoughts were going thru my head waiting for a flight yesterday from Townsville...flat face all day in a plane.

Sorry for your loss. You need to give the airline a copy of the autopsy, run out of air sounds like someone turned the wrong switch...can they turn the air off in the cargo hold or where ever it is they keep the dogs?

[Bilbo Baggins]

How sad I hope you have some resolution.

[~Anne~]

How sad. :D

The conclusion that the dog "ran out of air" I find a little confusing.

Why did the dog "run out of air"?

Does that mean the dog was suffocated by the environment?

Did it suffer from complications of BAOS?

What was the exact cause?

When this is determined, then you can decide who to seek compensation from.

[percyk]

oh how sad

poor dog...hope it wasnt an awful end for him

that is terrifying for anyone...no wonder people get very nervous...

ive always been lucky but i dont have dogs with flat faces...

im so so sorry for the dog

[Steve]

Ran out of air doesnt really tell you anything and you need to have the written report which tells you more detail of the dog's physical condition and what caused him to run out of air.

When you hand the dog over you assume its going to get similar conditions [regarding air especially] as it would anywhere.If conditions are O.K. for a dog to travel

I dont think its acceptable to say because it has a flat face it couldnt breath. It could breath when it got on the plane and its been breathing all its life - what happened on the plane to cause it to stop breathing? It didnt grow a flatter face while it was on the hour flight.

You might say suffocation due to the wrong mix of gases in the air or lack of oxegen or it died from suffocation due to stress, or heat, or even cold but they cant get away with saying it died because it ran out of air without saying why it didnt have enough air without explaining something in the environment on the plane which caused the dog to run out of air in flight.

Im not buying it and I reckon just the fact someone said it simply ran out of air is shonky too. Sounds to me like they are using the fact that its a flatfaced breed to get out of answering the question. Cause of death. It ran out of air caused by ---------. Dont tell me it was. It ran out of air because it was a flatfaced dog unless you also explain -It ran out of air as conditions on the plane did not supply enough air, caused it to be too hot, etc and caused it to die due to its inability to cope due to its anatomy. If this is the case then every person who flies a dog should be informed that conditions on airplanes are so hazardous that they could cause our dogs to die - and if they know that already they shouldnt be accepting our dogs and placing them under these sort of conditions without at least a warning.

How come the dog could breath O.K. when it got on the plane and couldnt while it was on the plane ? If conditions on planes are severe enough to cause a flat faced dog to die then they are severe enough to cause any other do to be - at a minimum - at risk and none of us hand over our dogs with an assumption that there will be less air.

Fact is the dog had enough air all its life and getting on the plane - it didnt on the plane and Id say - the airline pays and thats why they have insurance.

[~Anne~]

To my knowledge, cargo holds always have adjusted air temp controls because livestock and animals are frequently carried. However, in having said this, I am also of the understanding that certain areas of the hold are cooler and have temperature controlled more finely than other areas.

*If* the dog had BAOS, and depending on how severe, then it could possibly have been this that killed it if the temperature were to be too warm and given the dog would be under stress which caused body temp to rise, hearts to beat faster and numerous other things.

Anyway, unless more detail is available, it is anyone's guess.

[stormie]

I'm not sure whether or not you could necessarily determine WHY the dog ran out of oxygen. Perhaps a specialist pathologist could but I'm not entirely sure.

The changes that you can see in a dog that has passed away due to lack of oxygen may be the same in either case. For example, should BAOS be the reason, the dog would likely have been panting and breathing heavily and the airways may then be swollen and thickened etc. However, should the reason have been lack of oxygen to the cabin, the dog may have become quite stressed, breathing and panting heavily etc resulting in the same changes.

This is such a tragic thing to have happened and I really hope you get some answers.

[sumosmum]

So sorry this has happened to your dog. :D

When a livestock is uplifted on a flight, the Captain is notified of the dog being on board.

The Captain then would use the controls to ensure that the temperature and air flow is suitable.

Some mistakes that can be made, are that the Captain was not notified of the dog being onboard, or that he was made aware of it, and did not operate the controls for the hold correctly.

Also, other things that can happen are that there could have been a perishable shipment that contained Dry Ice loaded in the same area as the dog. This can cause lack of oxygen. This is why it is so important to always tell an airline if you are shipping anything that contains Dry Ice, no matter how small the amount. Dry ice is used for a lot of things and often people do not think it is important, when in actual fact it is!

Other things that may have happened, are that some other freight may have moved in the hold and blocked the airflow in the crate.

You really need to get a thorough autopsy report, and try to find out more information from the airline. They should have documents showing whether the correct procedures have been followed. They would have documentation stating what else was loaded on the aircraft in the hold with the dog. Well, what has been declared as being loaded with the dog. I suppose you could request a copy of their report into the incident. Or, have a legal person request this for you. If the airline is at fault, they really should compensate you for the dog.

Where was the dog traveling from/to ?

[Tysonrox]

Sydney to Melbourne

[Tysonrox]

Sydney to Melbourne

[Whippetsmum]

I am really sorry to hear about your dog,

Can any of the Victorian animal welfare organisations help with your enquiries? If the dog "ran out of air" is that an act of cruelty or neglect?

[OSoSwift]

I read the original question as I bought a dog from the breeder and paid for it, should I get my money back from the breeder. Am I correct???

If so and the autopsy report has no found anything like heart disease etc then I am of the opinion then yes you should still pay for the dog. Once you have paid for the dog it is yours, the breeder hasn't caused the dogs death so unfortunately it is not their cross to bear.

Having said that if the dog died due to a medical issue that the breeder would of know about before flying the dog then yes they should refund your money.

To me it sounds like the airline is responsible as the dog is not a puppy and has flown before with no issues. I would be seeking compensation from them. I am sure the breeder is extremely upset the dog has died as you are.

I am so sorry this has happened to you. Due to the fact of where I live I have and had to fly dogs, adults and puppies and it is always very stressful for me when I do incase the worst happens.

[TrinaJ]

how sad :D

Did you use an animal transport company such as Jet Pet or Dog Tainers?

Edited November 11, 2010 by TrinaJ