Author Topic: United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly  (Read 1879 times)

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Offline Lola

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United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly
« on: October 31, 2013, 01:57:46 PM »
https://hub.united.com/en-us/news/company-operations/pages/twitter-event-for-united-flyer-friendly-campaign.aspx

The comment below the article:

Quote
JANET SINCLAIR GITLIN

11:02 AM on October 29, 2013
United PetSafe almost killed my Greyhound on July 3, 2013 on our flights from San Diego to Boston. My dog and my cat were never allowed out of their crates, even though I had paid extra for a "Safety Stop" in Houston. They were never given water nor food, nor allowed to relieve themselves for 12.5 hours! They were NOT transported in an air conditioned PetSafe van, as promised in United's marketing materials and as promised on the phone and at the airport. The baggage handler kicked my Greyhound's crate, as she tumbled around in the crate, across the tarmac six times, to push her under the wing of the plane and they left my dog and cat under the wing of the plane in Houston's stifling heat. I have video and pictures proving this. The temperature on my phone was 91 degrees in Houston, it had to be at least 100 degrees on that tarmac. My pets were finally put in the cargo where they sat for more than one hour as work crews tried to fix a seat belt problem and then an air-conditioning problem. The cargo door was open allowing the brutal heat to cook my animals. We had to change planes because of the faulty air-conditioning and I never saw the PetSafe van take my animals out of the cargo. I was informed that I had to get off the plane immediately. My animals were still in cargo. Upon arrival in Boston the cargo employee stated, "This is animal cruelty" while looking at my Greyhound and her crate. Her crate was covered in blood, feces and urine. My cat's crate was covered in feces and vomit. My Greyhound suffered severe dehydration and heat stroke. She needed to be hospitalized in intensive care for 3 days; her kidneys were failing due to heatstroke, and her liver was struggling. She was urinating and defecating blood. My vet bill was more than $2700. I detailed everything to United Airlines and asked to be reimbursed for the vet bills. Their offer to me was $1000, and that was to be given to me only if I signed a 4 page non-disclosure agreement. United claims she had a pre-existing condition and they refuse to tell me what this "pre-existing condition" is. I have a letter from our vet in California indicating she was in perfect health and had NO pre-existing condition. The vet who treated her in Massachusetts has written a letter indicating that her medical problems were brought upon by her mistreatment by United, resulting in heat stroke. DO NOT FLY YOUR PETS IN CARGO WITH UNITED. They have taken absolutely no responsibility for the brutal and neglectful manner in which my animals were treated. They killed Maggie Rizer's dog and Michael Jarboe's dog last year. Google their stories. In all of our cases they refuse to take responsibility and blame it on a "pre-existing condition." I only wish I had read about what they did to Maggie and Michael's dogs before I ever entrusted my animals to them. Please share this with your associates, friends and family. DO NOT TRUST PETSAFE. Your animals are NOT SAFE and United will take NO responsibility, whether they injure them or kill them!
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Offline Pookie

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Re: United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2013, 02:35:58 PM »
jawdrop  :'(  Those poor furkids!
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2013, 03:47:34 PM »
My gosh.  It makes me sick to think of the suffering these animals went through.  And these are only the cases you hear about.  How many more go by the way side.  Thanks for posting, Lola

Offline DeeDee

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Re: United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2013, 04:40:20 PM »
And some people wonder why I refuse to let anyone else take care of my babies! Pfft. That's just sickening.
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Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2013, 01:24:45 AM »
The common denominator in all three stories (besides the Airline itself, obviously) is the stopover in Houston during the hot summer months.  Which is really unbelievable, considering the usual summer weather down there; you'd think they'd be more conscientious.
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Offline Lola

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Re: United's "Friendly Skies" ... not so pet friendly
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2013, 02:57:05 PM »
I think they need to rethink the name "PetSafe."  Geeeeeez. 
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