Dog Dies After United Airlines Stows It in Overhead Compartment

Earlier this week, a woman packed her bags, put her dog in a TSA-compliant pet carrier, and boarded a United flight from Houston to New York with her daughter. When they landed, the dog was dead — all because a flight attendant had insisted she stow the pet carrier in an overhead bin.

Help ensure a tragedy like this never happens again by signing this petition!

According to United's pet policy, pets should be carried in approved carriers and stowed underneath the seat in front of the customer, never in an overhead bin where there is limited air circulation. After the incident, United released a statement claiming to take "full responsibility" and promising to "thoroughly investigat[e] what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again."

Unfortunately, this isn't United's first animal tragedy. According to the Chicago Tribune, in 2016, United Airlines had the second most animal deaths and injuries of any U.S. airline. The airline reported nine deaths and 14 injuries — that's a total of 23 incidents. These were the highest figures for each category among U.S. carriers. Clearly something is wrong with the how United Airlines handles pets and an investigation is not enough.

Please sign this petition demanding that United Airlines set a stricter pet policy with clear penalties for violations, clarify those policies to all United employees, and let the public know so customers with pets can make responsible choices when choosing an airline!