December 15, 2007

NEW YORK – A Buffalo woman is mourning the loss of a beloved dog that died while on a flight from Atlanta to Buffalo.

A few months ago Charity Young bought an English Bulldog for her friend Andre - to keep him company while he was at school in Atlanta. A few days before Thanksgiving, Andre put the dog, Caleb, on a flight to Buffalo, where he was to stay for awhile with Charity.

But Caleb never made it. Charity says a baggage handler told her the dog was fine, but an hour or so later, she found out he had died.

Ms. Young says the dog had flown once before without issue. But now she says she'd never put a pet on a plane ever again.

The dog was on a Delta Airlines flight – airline reps expressed condolences for the loss of Caleb, and say they're investigating the incident.

A necropsy later determined that Caleb had a heart condition – but Charity says her vet told her the issue is manageable for dogs.

Because flying can be very trying on animals, it is possible the dog's heart gave out due to stress.

When planning to travel with your pet, consider alternatives to placing it in the cargo hold. Often, small pets are allowed in the man cabin.

If that's not possible, driving or putting the dog up in a kennel may be the better option. With the high number of dogs that die or are lost each year while traveling by plane, it's something to seriously consider.

Do you think animals should be transported in plane cargo holds? Should pets be shipped without their owner present?

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