When you take your pet on holiday, you often have so many plans for the event together. You’ll let them experience foods they never get to try at home. You will go on creative walks together, seeing landscapes and areas that your pet has never seen before in their life. In short, it becomes an exploratory experience for you both – something to be cherished and enjoyed for as long as you have your pet in your life. However, the problem for many is the worry about the consequence of taking your pet on such a long journey. Can they cope with the intensity of the journey?
Sadly, some stories show us that not all pets are made for the longevity of travel. Depressingly, Maria Fernanda Echeverry was on a trip with her dog, flying with pet Homerito from Puerto de Asis to Santiago de Cali, Colombia, using an EasyFly trip. However, despite normally being allowed to travel with her bulldog in the cabin, it was not allowed this time. She was informed that they cannot travel together in this fashion, so they made her change his travel method to be put into hold as opposed to with her in the cabin. Upset at the news, Maria complied – otherwise, she would have lost her flight.
However, the sickening discovery that her dog was not alive anymore changed everything.
Arriving at her location, she ran to pick up her dog from the holding area – only to find that her dog was lifeless, underneath all of the suitcases. His carrier was believed to have not been fitted correctly, and as such he did not have the room required to breathe properly during the trip. Maria says that she was not even given an explanation for his death, instead, they handed over his body “like any other object”.
What happens now?
The expectation is that Maria, a lawyer by trade, will fight this all the way. Ms Echeverry also claims to have spoken to an expert who said that her pet should not have been transported via the hold on that particular kind of aircraft. The temperature drops too low for an animal to handle, and it can lead to hypoxia. Now, Maria says that she wants one thing and one thing only: justice for the tragically lost life of Homerito.
She is now in the middle of pursuing legal action against the aircraft company. Sadly, it looks like this could be a long and draining fight for justice; such cases can be hard to prove, and any sign of previous ill health in a canine could lead to doubt over its suitability for travel.
The real story here is that a poor canine has died during a flight that it should have been better prepared for, or not allowed to board at all due to conditions. It is a crying shame to hear of the death of a beloved family animal due to such a mistake, and we hope that some kind of solution can be found for all parties.
RIP Homerito.