1:51 pm - 09/21/2012
supermodel Maggie Rizer's dog KILLED by united airlines
SUPERMODEL Maggie Rizer had done everything right, she thought.
The model had booked reservations for her two golden retrievers – 7-year-old Albert and 2-year-old Beatrice – on her flight from New York City to San Francisco through United Airlines's PetSafe program. But when Rizer & family landed in San Francisco on Sept. 3, they found out one of their family members had been lost along the way: Bea had died.
"We're completely devastated," Rizer tells PEOPLE. "[The airline] didn't even have an excuse."
The golden retriever's passing was inexplicable. Bea was young and had undergone a requisite physical examination – and was found to be in perfect health – just days before the flight. Golden retrievers don't usually experience problems during air travel.
In a passionate blog post on Rizer's website, Bea Makes Three, she paints a picture of United employees reluctant to admit wrongdoing or share any information about the company's internal investigation.
According to Rizer, her veterinarian performed a full necropsy and determined the cause of death to be heatstroke, "the absolute worst thing I could have imagined happening to her," Rizer says. "She died 30 feet below us, alone and scared. Nobody was there to help her because someone made a mistake."
In a statement, United tells PEOPLE that, "We understand that the loss of a beloved pet is difficult and express our condolences to Ms. Rizer and her family for their loss. After careful review, we found there were no mechanical operational issues with Bea's flight and also determined she was in a temperature-controlled environment for her entire journey. We would like [to] finalize the review but are unable until we receive a copy of the necropsy."
Rizer considered filing a lawsuit but hopes that speaking out about her experience will help inform people about the risks of traveling with a pet in cargo.
"I don't think dogs should be treated like bags," she says. "They're living, breathing creatures and parts of people's families." She adds that she will never fly with her dogs again.
"I'll miss her loving soul," Rizer says of Bea, who used to sit by little Zander and gently lick his face. "She was one of a kind. I've never had a dog like her. You can't replace a dog, especially one like that."
source
The model had booked reservations for her two golden retrievers – 7-year-old Albert and 2-year-old Beatrice – on her flight from New York City to San Francisco through United Airlines's PetSafe program. But when Rizer & family landed in San Francisco on Sept. 3, they found out one of their family members had been lost along the way: Bea had died.
"We're completely devastated," Rizer tells PEOPLE. "[The airline] didn't even have an excuse."
The golden retriever's passing was inexplicable. Bea was young and had undergone a requisite physical examination – and was found to be in perfect health – just days before the flight. Golden retrievers don't usually experience problems during air travel.
In a passionate blog post on Rizer's website, Bea Makes Three, she paints a picture of United employees reluctant to admit wrongdoing or share any information about the company's internal investigation.
According to Rizer, her veterinarian performed a full necropsy and determined the cause of death to be heatstroke, "the absolute worst thing I could have imagined happening to her," Rizer says. "She died 30 feet below us, alone and scared. Nobody was there to help her because someone made a mistake."
In a statement, United tells PEOPLE that, "We understand that the loss of a beloved pet is difficult and express our condolences to Ms. Rizer and her family for their loss. After careful review, we found there were no mechanical operational issues with Bea's flight and also determined she was in a temperature-controlled environment for her entire journey. We would like [to] finalize the review but are unable until we receive a copy of the necropsy."
Rizer considered filing a lawsuit but hopes that speaking out about her experience will help inform people about the risks of traveling with a pet in cargo.
"I don't think dogs should be treated like bags," she says. "They're living, breathing creatures and parts of people's families." She adds that she will never fly with her dogs again.
"I'll miss her loving soul," Rizer says of Bea, who used to sit by little Zander and gently lick his face. "She was one of a kind. I've never had a dog like her. You can't replace a dog, especially one like that."
source
lol wut
it makes sense to start treating them like family because they become a part of yours.
I LOVE THIS THING
no, i wouldnt take my cat to a restaurant or my mothers funeral. my cat does not get to dictate the households finances or choose where i want to go on vacation. even tho she can shit in a toilet, at the end of the day, my cat is an animal and not a person.
I loved that cat more than some of my human family members who though they are human are in so many words: fucking disappointments.
Edited at 2012-09-21 06:45 pm (UTC)
LOL
When I have to say goodbye to my best friend Button, I'm pretty sure I will cry more than I cried for any other family member of mine.
Edited at 2012-09-21 10:12 pm (UTC)
just
askjfa;faslghsahf
you hit my dog
you hit my dog
yeah i'm to blame but someone else is going to feel the fury. idk i dont know how to say it other than i'm irrationally protective of my dogs b/c i love them so much. in the case of the airport, if my dog died at the airport in the best of conditions i'm still fucking up the airline because it died under their supervision
this is why I would never trust an airline with my pet tbh
I would just drive myself
And here I was just thinking about flying United with my kitty. FUCK OFF. Poor dog. Poor Maggie. UGH so sad. ;_;
NOPE. If I want to take her to college with me, I'll drive her. Fuck it.
I got the looks that I gave every single crying baby until that day as my bengal howled for close to 15 hours :D
2007, Delta Cargo's Live Animal program, they were coddled the whole way. Super happy when I picked them up, and that's saying something for Patrick (she was a shelter bb). Don't know if their program's changed since then or not.
http://www.jetblue.com/travel/special-n
plus airlines fucking suck.
when we moved from back to the UK and then from the UK to here, the thought of our dog being alone on a plane for 8+ hours was awful :(
I would NEVER fly with my dog in the cargo hold.
I had a hedgehog (ok, it was my sister's but I was her Godmother), and she was really old. She got cancer and some sort of Parkinson and we had to put her down because she was just suffering: she wasn't eating and walking was painful for her. My mom called me at work to let me know/ask for my opinion and after saying that it was ok, because she needed to rest, I broke down and cried for 15 minutes. At work. On a Tuesday morning. And I couldn't care care.
Fucking despise that part of the job.
i am so overprotective and overemotional when it comes to my pets. we had to put our dog down last month, and i cried about it then, but was okay afterwards... then last weekend i was home and all i was doing was pouring some chips into a bowl, and i started bawling because i forgot that my dog wasn't going to come running in expecting a treat :(
I'd be inconsolable.