Why I 100% Blame United Airlines For Dog’s Death, Not Fellow Passengers

I live on Guam and United Airlines should be sued for what decisions they made after this incident occurred. United Airline is the only airline that flies directly to Hawaii and from Hawaii to Guam. There is an Air Force Base and a Naval Base on Guam. There are hundreds of military people here and many local people that love their pets like a family member. United just told everybody that they stopped shipping pets because of this incident happening. This left many service people and the local residents without any way to ship their pets off island. After numerous complaints from service people United decided to make military exempt from this. It left the local people handing with no way to bring or send their pets on/
off island. I called United Airline and they informed me that they will make a decision in May on if they will continue shipping pets. May finally came and they made a decision to continue pet shipping but it wouldn't be until the end of month to make reservations and then another week or so before they would ship the pets. United also made several changes in their pet travel plans and have put a burden on many families. United put several restrictions on what pets they would allow on the plane. There are many species of animal now that CANNOT fly on United. Not only did United decide to do this they also made the flight from Guam to Hawaii that was a domestic flight before in to an International flight. Before this change on the domestic flight it only cost $300.00 to ship your pet from Hawaii to Guam. Now that they made it an International flight you call United PET SAFE the company that ships animals for United and they will tell you that due to being an International flight you have to go through IPATA and use their IPATA member for your area to ship your pet if it is a species that is allowed. The price for a medium size dog went from $300.00 to $1,300.00 just to ship a pet. Remember that United is THE ONLY Airline that flies back and forth to Hawaii from Guam. United has made having a pet on Guam in to something that most military and locals can't afford. I wanted to buy a pure bred dog located on Hawaii and ship it to Guam. The dog was a puppy only 9 weeks old and United IPATA member quoted me a price of $1,170.00 just to ship the dog. Pets are part of our family and many people need pets for companions to make their lives happier. Why can United Airlines hold the entire island of Guam from getting pets to and from the island? Our military as well. These people have given so much for our Country and they deserve the right to have pets as family members. As it is currently with United if you have a Pug, Shi-Tzu, and many other breed of dog and you need to be relocated off island or move to the States you will have to sell your pet or put it in an animal shelter. This is not correct for people to just give up a loving family member. Not only that you give up your pet but be charged way to much for shipping your pet if allowed. This all came about because of United having out of control power minded people working for them. The people on Guam are being treated very bad with United Airlines pet transportation. This needs to STOP and let people have some happiness with their pets.
I'm really amazed that our local Government hasn't done anything about this. I believe United Airlines and the local Government are working together and they are aware of all the heart break they are causing with our pets. What if you had children that loved their dog. Then you had to tell them that we need to sell the pet or put it in an animal shelter because of these stupid new regulations that got put in place. People can't even have pets anymore. WOW what is this world coming too.

LMAO! Everyone is putting 100% blame on United, yet the dog owner never bothered to check on her dog!!!!!

Personally if that was me, I would have told the FA to F**K off, land the damn plane, and get me the F off of it with my kids and my dog in tow. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY, I don't care who you are, authoritative or not, touches my dog if I know damn well they are not following procedure. That woman PAID to have her dog in the cabin with her.

That FA should be fired, but the passenger (as devastated as she is), I'm sure feels she could have checked on her dog periodically now that hindsight is 20/20.

I just saw a video of a father and a toddler being put off a Southwest Airlines flight because the toddler would not sit in her seat . A woman tried to explain in a non challenging manner what had transpired and the Flight Attendant asked her if she wanted to be kicked off the plane and told another or the same woman not to video what was going on . So yes , if they want to be the one with total control and power then they must be responsible . Also , why can't the FA be fired ? She violated policy, did not listen to what she was being told and it resulted in the death of a pet . What can you be fired for ? I would not feel safe flying with this FA -she is dangerous .

I don't understand why no one checked on that dog during the 3+ hour flight. It wasn't turbulent the entire flight. I still don't understand anyone thinking it was a good idea to put a dog in the overhead bin. I blame everyone on the plane who saw and heard what was going on. You wouldn't put a baby up there. I just don't understand anyone's mentality that...just because it's a dog, it's ok? The owner was at fault, the flight attendant was most certainly at fault, and so were all the passengers who didn't want to 'rock the plane' by confronting the flight attendant when she made a deadly decision to shove a small dog up in the overhead bin. It's a sorry situation altogether when no one was brave enough to use common sense.

My sensitivity to animals and commitment to their safety resulted in a "melt down" after reading what had happened to this puppy. I agree with those who have said the flight attendant who insisted on this animal being placed in an overhead bin should be fired. I have also thought a lot about what I would have done had I been an observer and know that I would have stood-up and intervened on behalf of the animal. What does it say about our culture if other passengers sat idly by and took no action? Has it come to this???

So let me figure this out. I enjoyed flying in the 70s. Then Reagan saved us all with the magic potion of DEREGULATION. Then they had all the mergers and aquisitions, which cost a lot of money, those MBAs be expensive! Less competition, less passenger care, service goes down, but let's not even MENTION this all began with deregulation of the industry. And yes, that FA deserves to be doxxed. If a cop shoots someone, even if cop is in total compliance and acted justly, cop's name is everywhere, hate mail comes in, protests, marches, etc. The FA was in a similiar position as the cop, she had authority and power over others. And she abused it. She is totally guilty, she lied about it. You want to fly with someone like that? No thanks.

Owner is to blame for many reasons. What’s the saying “if someone told you to jump off a bridge”? They obviously knew it wasn’t a good idea if they said they yelled at the flight attendant “it’s a dog”. The dog barked for 2 hrs and they never checked on it. Didn’t they sit there listening to the pre flight announcements about items shifting in overhead bins?? Not to mention now the daughter is doing these interviews supposedly right after the dog is found dead and there is no sadness she is actually sounding like she knows she should talk all about how it’s the flight attendants fault. Something doesn’t add up here. I’m not saying the flight attendant should have no blame but in the end its the owner. If the flight attends said to put a baby in the overhead bin would you?

So many unanswered questions?? I have flown with my female dog many times. I would never ever fly with my male dog. He is crazy! Both are miniature schnauzers and would fit in an approved carrier under my seat. When I travel, I also drag along a big backpack. The backpack and the dog make it a very cumbersome trip. I can't image bringing 2 small children also. Passenger could be faulted for a bad decision to try to manage all of this. My backpack goes in the overhead and the approved dog carrier fits under the seat in front of me (which is the airline regulation). Was this person's dog carrier approved? If not, United is at fault. If it was approved, why wasn't it under the seat? Did passenger decide that her carryon needed to be with her under seat? If so, passenger made decision as to importance of each. If she tried to fit both under seat and dog carrier stuck out, that's a problem. FA should have told passenger that dog MUST go under seat per airline rules. FA and United are at fault for telling passenger to put dog in overhead. I , for one , could have never sat on a plane and listened to a dog crying in the overhead without checking on it. Why did no one help this lady? It definitely seems she needed help handling 2 children & a dog. 3-4 hours of not being allowed to get out of your seat is ridiculous. Somebodies gotta pee! The death of this poor pup lies with many! IMHO

I would never put my dog in a place that he might be in danger. I would rather leave the flight.
This guy sums it up well:
"The passenger has a contractual right to fly, but not a constitutional one. EF the passenger. I said it. May SHE be charged. She has an obligation -a legal one- to care for her animal. She failed. If a business associate asked you to put your dog in a washing machine, shut the door, and hit spin cycle would you do it? That’s what this woman did. Nobody forcing her to fly, legally. The FA made an unreasonable request. The passenger made a terrible choice."

@jeff schilling - Your legal analysis is borderline scary to me. FML. Did you go to law school in Wisconsin or do you practice in Louisiana (a lawyer would recognize the significance of those questions)?

Dogs are chattel, although ironically enough, Illinois (UA HQ) is one of the only states flirting with recognizing dogs as something more vis a vis family (divorce) law. I’m not even an IL attorney.

United will have liability up to the contract of carriage for Pets, like luggage. If your favorite piece of luggage given to you by your dead beloved aunt sally were destroyed by the airline, there is no more liability than destruction my sleek tumi.

Dogs should be considered people, or cooler than people, but it’s just not the law.

My 80lb dog is sitting in my lap right now and she will drive or fly private, if necessary. Public planes aren’t meant for dogs and vice versa. Watched two “service dogs” growl and try to attack an old man. Both were seated in VirginA First just 3 weeks ago. They didn’t like his cane. My dog would likely have to be restrained by an air Marshall and zip tied the moment food was brought out.

United sent one of my bags to the wrong country. American lost my bag on the wrong continent for 23 days. I don’t trust the airlines with low legal liability items. Crashing and injuries, are expensive AF, safe. Not feeding people, taking off an hour late, losing bags or hurting animals, low liability, therefore at risk.

The passenger has a contractual right to fly, but not a constitutional one. EF the passenger. I said it. May SHE be charged. She has an obligation -a legal one- to care for her animal. She failed. If a business associate asked you to put your dog in a washing machine, shut the door, and hit spin cycle would you do it? That’s what this woman did. Nobody forcing her to fly, legally. The FA made an unreasonable request. The passenger made a terrible choice.

And to the posts about the “fasten seatbelt sign” being on? FML. You are telling me that no one got up to pee for four hours? I watch people get up during the takeoff climb to be served water by the FAs (after 10k feet. Before that, they do keep you seated). Check on the your dog FFS.

Don’t fly United, please. They must change their ways.

Final thought: i have a dream about flying with my dog in EK F. I would get her her own suite (JAL miles, obv). I just think she would love it the most.

I am sick of people taking advantage of the pet policy on planes. This women stuck her dog in a carry on because she didn't want to pay the $100. fee.(which is happening more and more). She had no room to place the dog under her seat because she had so much stuff. I couldn't understand the woman at all when she was on the Tv so why would the stewardess! Her daughter had to translate for her. Stewards and stewardesses are getting bit by dogs. We had a dog on our flight the other night that was totally unruly and barked from Tampa to Hartford. What fun! Give me a break . Air travel is bad enough without adding pets to the equation.

I was wondering where the passenger was seated. Was she in the front row where there's no where to store your stuff during take-off and the attendant expected the dog to go overhead for that, but then come out later? That the only reason I can see for a flight attendant to insist the dog go overhead. If reports are true that the dog was crying, why didn't someone open the bin and check to see if the dog was ok? I'm in agreement that United is 100% responsible. As has been said, they insist that we follow their instructions without question and we've all seen what happens when someone doesn't. No one wants to be kicked off a flight or arrested upon arrival. Whatever the passengers could have done differently or whatever miscommunication there was in no way mitigates their liability here. They really do need to fire this attendant and make clear that "safety of their passengers" includes the animals brought on board. I avoid United because I think their food and service is sub-par, but this is just another reason to look elsewhere.

I am so disgusted with United in every possible way, but that an innocent little dog is dead is beyond depressing and infuriating. I kind of hope the FA's name and address get leaked because I blame her for every piece of this, and I want her to be afraid like that helpless animal was afraid when she murdered it with her auhoritarian behavior.
Honestly, it sounds like the passenger did not speak enough english to fight over it, and we all know what our government is doing to people who are immigrants. It sounds like she intimidated the woman, who had her hands full in every way.
I wish the people around would have spoken up more, but it is not their fault. Now I bet people start policing the FA's like crazy, as we have conclusively proven that they have no one's interest or safety in mind as a rule.
She needs to be tried for animal cruelty and do jail time. Or maybe we can shove her in the overhead and see how she fares.

@Pete
@ESA Bull Manures & Morons

regarding other airlines not allowing pets in cabin:

You guys have no idea what you're talking about! Why do you state something as a given fact you hardly know anything about it?

https://www.swiss.com/ch/en/prepare/special-services/travelling-with-animals
https://www.flysas.com/en/uk/travel-info/other/travel-with-animals/animal-in-cabin/
https://www.austrian.com/Info/Flying/TransportationAnimals.aspx?sc_lang=en&cc=US
Lufthansa has similar rules, didn't find the english version

for all others interested in travelling with a pet:
http://www.pettravel.com/

I wonder if Kirby’s push to get every plane to push back on time every time played a role here. Instead of solving the problem but finding the passenger a seat that would better accommodate the under seat carrier, the quick thing to do was to just put the carrier in the overhead. Depending on the plane, the IFE and whether the seat was an aisle, a middle or a window—there can be real differences in the under seat stowage space. Might have taking a few minutes to find the passenger with dog s new seat avoided the situation— but that takes too long and might endanger the onetime pushback. Wild speculation here but why else would a regulation sized carrier not fit under?

I live in Australia. In my former airline and travel industry career I travelled a lot. The worst flights (service, airports, boarding, lounges, seats, etc ... even in the premium cabins) ... almost always within the USA. I've met highly professional flight attendants, and quite a few who I'd happily push down the stairs ... (not actually of course .. it's against the law).
The death of this puppy is beyond all understanding.
What a vicious thing to do to a domestic pet.
I am the last person to advocate 'lawyering up' ... however, in this instance ... I, myself, would have a serious and very public suit with United. Utterly, utterly sad and appalling.

My family and I shared our life with a wonderful flat-coated retriever who eventually succumbed to age at 18 years. We traveled with him to Austria, Malta, Israel, India, USA, and Syria. After considerable research, we found the care and compassion provided to Lucky by Air France and Lufthansa was unmatched. We never traveled with Lucky on any other airline.

As an animal lover and a UA Global Services Member, I certainly hope UA repairs the lack in the training provided to their staff. I cannot blame the FA personally. There is a problem with the system and it needs fixing from the root.

Would you put an infant up in the overhead bin? Of course not! There are no visible holes, no air conditioning vents. It should be no surprise this puppy suffocated, especially a short-nosed breed. I have travelled with two animals before and the airline made accommodations after realizing my already checked and sedated cat could not go in cargo so they moved me to first class and my second cat sat with my Mom in coach (only one animal per section per flight). This passenger shouldn’t have had seat where approved carrier couldn’t be before take-off (United’s fault) and the attendant should’ve asked passengers if anyone was willing to switch or have the dog near them. Just appalling and I do think criminal charges for animal cruelty should be brought against attendant.

The FA needs to be fired, this is animal cruelty clearly. However the puppy's owner and the "sheep" on board the UAL flight are partially responsible. I know if I had heard this puppy crying in an airless overhead bin, I would have taken it out. What would the FA do? Throw me out at 30,000 ft? I quite flying UAL years ago, urge others not to fly UAL..there are better airlines out there...Delta, Alaska, Southwest etc. Also don't fly animals, use ground transport. I've transported my cats this way..much easier than flying for the cats, takes more time and they arrive less stressed.

I’m just sad for everyone involved. Mostly the dog, but if I were the overwhelmed owner who made a bad decision not checking on the dog (often), asssuming I followed directions to begin with (which I doubt I would have, but who knows the circumstances), I would be absolutely heartbroken and regretful. We’ve all made bad calls. And if I were the FA, I’d be heartbroken that my bad decision resulted in this. This was ignorance - I doubt it was bad intentions. Prayers to all involved. I hope this never happens again. Sitting by my 13 year old “baby” Chihuahua as I write this. She owns my heart. ❤️❤️

From what I read, the passenger paid the $150 fee to take the dog on-board the plane.

Also the passenger had an infant with her, as a lap child. There's a decent chance the child fell asleep in her lap during takeoff and slept the whole time, making it difficult for the mother to get up and check on the dog.

Besides, if the FA indicated it's safe to put a dog in the overhead bin, why should the passenger question it? The FA works all day on an airplane, while the pax does not. I fly quite often and never considered that the overhead bin doesn't have sufficient airflow.

@D3KingAmerican - it certainly would be a normal thing to do, to check on my pet after take off (if i was forced to put it up in the overhead bin).

so sad this one.

this lady was also flying with a child and a baby. was she too busy to look after her children that she didn't have the time to check on the dog. or the lady assumed he is OK? which i cannot believe. from the reports so far it looks as if the dog was making noises during the flight. so why would the owner not check on her pet?

so many questions here. only the passenger and flight attendant are able to answer, as to What exactly they thought and Why they acted the way they did.

@Happypoppeye - fully agree

As much as the flight attendant is to blame, what about the PAX who brought the poor doggie on the flight? Wasn't also she responsible for his well being?
For those saying this dog, a french bulldog, should be put in cargo - nope, he couldn't. French bulldogs are brachycephalic breeds–flat nosed dogs–and those breeds are banned from flying on majority commercial airlines underneath the plane.
With this in mind - could one of the reason the poor doggie didn't survive be also the type of bread in combination with all the nasty stuff what could have happened while locked in the overhead bin.
So many things to consider here but certainly would look at 2 parties here - the FA and PAX...

also

@Mark G - agree:

Agree with you that the flight attendant didn’t follow policy and should be disciplined / fired / sued. These rules exist for a reason and we are clearly seeing the fall out now when they are not followed.

However as a pet owner and someone who has spent time with small children, I imagine that the passenger’s judgment was compromised as her attention was divided between too many dependents: one child, an infant and dog. Apparently it was a Frenchie which is a high risk breed for flying. This has to be part of the discussion as well. Imagine had there been an emergency on the plane and they needed to evacuate. Do you think the mother would have been able to manage the dog as well?

In my opinion, there needs to be a policy of either lap child or one pet. Not both. You call the pets family members, then logically there should a dedicated human guardian for them.

I have to disagree. I understand you're thinking but I feel this is a major issue with the world right now - blame someone else, its not my fault...

The person bringing the dog on has to be aware of what she is doing. Common sense should tell her you don't put a dog in a soft mesh container in the overhead bin. She should have said something and if the sky waiter/waitress fought her she should have fought back ...until she got kicked off the flight ...or was the flight more important than the dogs life? Where were the other passengers? Someone say something, if not to the employee than to the lady. How come the lady never checked on the dog? Dumb. I'm not arguing the employee has no blame as she is just as much to blame as everyone else ...but stop trying to just put the blame on them.

I feel sorry for the dog but the responsibility ultimately lies with the person who brought the dog on the flight.

I feel like people are more concerned with defending/attacking who they think are right/wrong than doing something about it.

Just don't fly United.

I also laugh at those that talk about how airlines SHOULD accept 100% fault because they ask for passengers' 100% compliance. You're asking the same businesses that can take 2-3 weeks to cancel to your ticket, while asking you to cancel within 24hr or you're screwed, to give a crap about you.

They don't. They care about bottom line. Guess what? The stock was up earlier this morning, too (not so sure now).

I have 4 dogs, I would have got off the plane. That's just me. You would have done something else. That's you. This lady, for whatever reason, did what she did. A dog's dead and none of this back and forth banter will change that. Just don't fly United.

Thanks for mentioning the AFA and their part in all this. I do think they bear at least equal responsibility as the corporate parent, yet the corporate parent receives virtually most if not all of the public's ire.

I don't think it's fair to blame an entire corporate culture on one flight attendant's negligence, though I agree that United seems to have more than it's fair share of pet-related issues (as of late).

Very sorry to hear about the dog, as I am a dog person as well.

Its simple. The FAs wants the power, but not the responsibility. The FA in question is denying knowledge that the bag has a dog, but everyone nearby heard the dog owner saying to her in the first place and she insisted it be placed in the overhead cabin.

When the pet dies, she lies (or she suddenly has amnesia). She is unfit to be given so much power in the first place, since she doesnt want the responsibility that comes with it.

Its the overwhelming power placed in wrong hands that killed the dog. Lucky is right to mention the point; Dr Dao's case and this case has similarities - everyone just watches, because they know better than to challenge the FA, even if she is totally in the wrong, because of the ridiculous, unchecked power given to the FAs.

She caused the dog's death, and wants no responsibility of it, and cast the blame squarely on the owner (like some commenters as well - who asked you to travel with your pet on the plane?).

These incidents will simply continue, because they are given so much power with no responsibility whatsoever, and that is recipe for abuse.

And as for the United culture, we have to wonder why their planes are full even after what they did to Dr Dao. If that does not stop people from flying United, this incident will not either. And when everyone still flies with United, everyone is voting to allow current systems, current United culture to continue.

I'll disclose that I am an attorney but this is not my field. I am normally one to not jump quickly to the deep pocket. But this time, I am seeing severe liability to both United as well as the flight attendant personally. Both. Not one. United meets the definition of a common carrier.

COMMON LAW (Common Carrier):
A common carrier in common law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport.

For once, I actually agree that an airline (United) is at fault. The scope of their services and affirmative duty regarding travel, as well as the place in our world as a common carrier, they are are responsible. And, the duty of care rises to a level far above that of simple negligence. I know this applies to humans. I do not think it applies to goods. But I think most courts (certainly juries) would likely apply to duty to the dog...and certainly the public view, social media, and any settlement value will side this way.

DUTY OF COMMON CARRIER:
The duty to act reasonably is the normal duty of care that applies in most situations. However, in some situations, the law imposes other duties of care. For example, common carriers (including bus drivers, train drivers, and airplane pilots) owe a particularly high duty of care to passengers.

BUT, just my opinion, the crew member is as well. Had the dog been a human being I would put the action at negligent homicide. I agree with Lucky, sadly. I would not have assumed death or grave danger had I been on the flight. I feel horrible admitting that.

Aside from the legal aspect, I am MAD about this one.

Investors don't give a shit. Stock up about .8% today when Dow and S&P dropped. In fact United has rebounded a bit since the recent fiasco about overcapacity, which sent shares tumbling in one day.

This is one flight attendant on one flight. So many judgmental and sanctimonious people on these blogs. As if United itself is pervasively bad. I only have about 200k lifetime miles with them but I've never once had a bag lost, never a rude/hostile customer service experience (indifferent FAs yes, but never rude and I'm always in economy), and never any really negative experience...never had that on any airline for that matter. So I'll keep flying any major US airline, United included, that fits my budget and schedule. And don't pretend like you won't either if the price/budget is right for you too.

Another Steve nailed it. If airlines and the FAA expect 100% compliance with crew member instructions on aircraft, airlines and their staff have to accept 100% of the fault when those instructions lead to injury or death of passengers (whether human or animal). The passenger followed all of United and the TSA's rules/regulations with the animal in a carrier, and the negligent/malicious actions of the flight attendant directly contributed to the dog's death.

Animal cruelty charges are definitely warranted in this case, and I really hope that United has the spine to terminate this woman. Not only did she obviously not understand policies (showing that United's staff training clearly needs some help), she was just straight up unreasonable in dealing with this customer, who obviously had a dog in her bag. I just can't fathom the thought process this FA went through, since stowing a live animal in the overhead bin just defies common sense, regardless of how ignorant she was of policies or how poor United's employee training may be.

This FA is entirely at fault. How could anyone with an IQ above 10 think this would be ok!? She needs to be immediately terminated, although that's a long shot with the union.

However, not sure where you get off thinking flight crews want passengers to be afraid of them. For someone whose literal job is to fly around are you afraid of flight crews? Are you terrified they'll ask you "do you want ice?" I'm sure you wrote this in haste, but still even you should recognize that was an overreaction that makes *you* look bad. FAs aren't wardens, they're underpaid, overworked, humans who deal with other stressed out humans. And no, I'm not one, I just have empathy. But then again I fly in coach.

I would blame the airline and the flight attendant, and I agree the latter should be fired. But just for say 75%; 25% of the blame does go to the owner. Never mind she was stressed; never mind there were kids; never mind the security paranoia on US planes - if you have a dog and you travel with one, you have a responsibility. Getting kicked off the plane is highly annoying but well, so it is - was staying on board worth the dog's terrible death, being smashed and suffocated in the dark for hours as it seems? Lucky uses the analogy of the family member - if something even vaguely similar had happened to one's child, how would one have reacted? (Aside from that, I find the roots-of-totalitarianism mutual metaphor for and by air travel very apt.)

I absolutely agree that the employee is 100% to blame, but my only issue with this post is this:

"the fear we have of airline employees (which is exactly how they want us to feel)".

I think that's not a fair statement. And no, I don't work for an airline and never have, for I would be fired on my first day after telling a rude passenger to fuck off. I do know several people who work for airlines, both on the ground and in the air, and I can't imagine any one of them wanting the passengers to be afraid of them. I do think that many times the flight attendants are experiencing the same level of stress as the passengers are unfortunately.

Again, that is not to say that this employee was justified. If United has already made it clear in their response that pets should never be put in the overhead bins (which, obviously) then this employee was either incompetent or heartless, or both.

You're right to blame United. This is ridiculous.

AFA will support the Flight Attendant. They are required to under the law. They have a duty of fair representation. That doesn't mean that they will say that what she did was correct either. My guess is that they'll say that she wasn't properly trained by the airline and the that the airline is at fault. We will see. I would be shocked, however, if this resulted in the employees termination. That just doesn't happen in the airline industry. Well, on second thought, it does happen. If you don't pay your dues to the union, they demand your termination that day, and it happens.

Another prediction. United will nickel and dime this poor family on compensation too. Dogs are worth their fair market value -- which isn't a lot. They'll try to get away with offering vouchers and hope it goes away.

This is a terrible story.

It's pretty simple. If airlines are going to demand that passengers follow crew member instructions at all times, and threaten criminal prosecution for anyone who does not follow instructions, they should be prepared to be 100% responsible when those directions result in injury, death, property damage or animal cruelty. Can't have it both ways, if you want to be the only one who gets to make choices, better be ready to live with the consequences. Based on the multiple eyewitness accounts, the Flight attendant should have been fired already. Not disciplined. Fired. He/She is not suited for the job of managing the safety of over 100 passengers.