Dog Dies After Being Forced Into Plane's Overhead Bin

When Catalina Robledo boarded a United Airlines flight on Tuesday from Houston to New York, little did she know that it would be probably the worst trip of her life. The mother-of-two brought along her black French bulldog, Kokito, and it ultimately died after being stored in a passenger’s overhead compartment for the hours long journey.

Catalina had been instructed by a flight attendant to put her 10-month-old dog in the compartment, though usually animals in carriers are placed under their owner’s seat.

A passenger seated behind the pet owner told The New York Times, “The pet owner was very adamant that she did not want to put the pet carrier up above,” Ms. Gremminger said. “She was saying verbally, ‘My dog is in here, no, this is my dog.’ The flight attendant, in response, just continued to ask her to put it above because it was a hazard where it was, it was a safety emergency, someone could trip.”

Eventually Catalina complied and she told Telemundo that during the flight “the dog barked and barked but I could not stand,” because she was with her newborn, who was on her lap, and the plane was going through turbulence.

When they reached LaGuardia, she said, “I grabbed him on the floor and said: ‘Kokito breathe, breathe,’ but he was already dead.”

The stewardess left the plane crying after claiming she didn’t know there was a dog in the carrier.

“This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin,” Maggie Schmerin, a spokeswoman for the airline, said in a statement. “We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them.” What are your thoughts on this ordeal? Let us know in the comments section.