A Michigan native is blaming United Airlines for the death of her beloved golden retriever Jacob.
Kathleen Considine recently moved from Dearborn to Oregon. She arranged to have Jacob flown to Oregon on United Airlines. Considine says Jacob was cleared to travel by a veterinarian and the flight included a one hour layover in Chicago. However, that layover ended up being twenty hours. The 80-pound dog had a large crate that Considine says the airline assured her it would fit on the flights. But when the plane landed in Chicago for the layover, Jacob's crate couldn't fit on the flight bound for Portland, so the dog was placed in a kennel until there was room on another plane. His owner says it took 20 hours before Jacob was boarded on the plane for Portland.
When he arrived, Considine says he was disoriented and barely breathing. She says, "his breathing started becoming really scarce and I rushed him to the emergency vet, where they got him on a table right away,They did eight minutes of CPR and then they lost him." Considine says a veterinarian determined Jacob died of a stomach flip or Gastric Dilatation Volvulus which cuts blood flow to his internal organs. The illness is caused either by stress or lack of food. She thinks its stress because she says United Airlines didn't feed Jacob during the 20-hour layover. "When he got there (to Portland) he was not the Jacob that was in Detroit," Considine said.
Considine misses her beloved buddy, Jacob. "He was my very best friend. He was so happy,". She blames United Airlines for Jacob's death.
The airline issued this statement: "We were deeply saddened to hear of Jacob's passing after we returned him to the care of his owner. Our PetSafe team is committed to the safety and comfort of all the pets that travel with us. We worked to ensure Jacob's comfort throughout his entire journey and he showed no signs of distress nor behave in a way that would suggest he was unwell while in our care. Though we understand little can ease the grief that accompanies the loss of a pet, we've been in touch with Ms. Considine to offer our condolences and discuss this matter further."
