Monday, March 19, 2018

Dog Change

From the NY Daily News:
"Protesters demand justice for dog that died aboard United flight"
Nearly two-dozen barking mad protesters were joined by their canine companions Sunday at LaGuardia Airport, where they demanded justice for a 10-month-old French bulldog killed after being stuffed in an overhead bin by a United Airlines flight attendant. The poor pooch, Kokito, was in a dog carrier aboard a flight from Houston to LaGuardia. The flight crew said the case was blocking the aisle, so a flight attendant put it in the overhead storage bin, according to Kokito’s owner, Catalina Robledo. The dog was dead when the flight landed. Robledo’s 11-year-old daughter, Sophia Ceballos, remained distraught about the dog’s demise.


“I just think about him every day at school and I can't concentrate,” she said. “I cry every night for him because it feels really bad without him.

Around 20 protesters in the parking lot for Terminal A shook their heads in disgust, some holding dogs in their arms. Other pups sat on the pavement, wagging their tails. The “dog-in” was organized by State Senator Marisol Alcantara, who vowed to introduce legislation clarifying rules for pets on flights. She dubbed the proposed rules Kokito’s Law. United called the incident a “tragic accident that should never have occurred.”  But Robledo’s attorney, Evan Oshan, said the flight attendant who stashed Kokito in the bin should be criminally charged. The employee has not been publicly identified. “There has been no apology from her,” Oshen said. “We want accountability and we want justice.” Alcantara’s legislation would explicitly ban placing pets in overhead bins on flights, among other measures. “Make no bones about it, United is in the dog house and we will not tolerate their cruelty towards animals,” Alcantara said.

^ There does need to be Federal laws protecting animals  - especially pets (on flights, against abuse and untimely death.) United has an awful record with transporting animals (which has gotten worse with Kokito's death and other incidents of diverting planes because an animal was on-board when it shouldn't have been. I can not understand why there are not more Federal, airport and airline over-sight. The flight attendant also needs to be held accountable for her role in the dog's death. ^

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