8 replies to this topic

[Lola2016]

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/02/08/spirit-airlines-employee-told-student-to-flush-emotional-support-hamster-down-toilet-student-alleges.html

I don't know if this belongs here. Didn't know where else to put it.

Evil people in this world. Could not believe what I was reading...

[Hera the Hamster]

This is so sad. :( :(. Why?????????

[Bella33]

I can't belive this...Its really sad :((((

[Lillias]

I would like to see the article fact-checked because it sounds fishy:

- Many airlines don't allow rodents in the cabin because they are NOT "harmless." An escaped rodent could cause serious damage to the electronics aboard the aircraft. Airport employees won't tell you to set your pet free at the airport.

- Airlines post their pet regulations online. I think the phone call story was made up after the fact because it sounds ridiculous that the employee wouldn't have checked or known a policy that takes about five seconds to find on their website.

- Traveling with a pet in the cabin requires a reservation and often a fee. You don't just show up the day of with your pet. Airlines also have rules about carriers, which you should double-check before traveling.

 

 

Also, SHE wants to sue the AIRLINES? That hamster was HER responsibility, and if this story is true, SHE should face legal consequences for animal abuse. She had already cancelled her flight; her options included:

- booking a flight with an airline that does in fact allow hamsters in the cabin

- booking a flight with an airline that allows hamsters to travel as cargo (not ideal, but if the carrier is well-prepped, the hamster should be okay)

- taking Amtrak

- taking the hamster to a rescue or shelter (Even some vets will hold an animal temporarily until a home can be found.)

- postponing the flight until an adopter could be found

- heck, even going down to baggage claim and begging someone to take the hamster would be better

 

If she can afford a frivolous lawsuit, then she could have afforded to change her travel plans. She strikes me as a selfish, attention-grabbing person, and she should not be allowed to have pets (or children for that matter).

[Lola2016]

Lillias: I agree with you a 100%.

[nebit]

I would like to see the article fact-checked because it sounds fishy:

- Many airlines don't allow rodents in the cabin because they are NOT "harmless." An escaped rodent could cause serious damage to the electronics aboard the aircraft. Airport employees won't tell you to set your pet free at the airport.

- Airlines post their pet regulations online. I think the phone call story was made up after the fact because it sounds ridiculous that the employee wouldn't have checked or known a policy that takes about five seconds to find on their website.

- Traveling with a pet in the cabin requires a reservation and often a fee. You don't just show up the day of with your pet. Airlines also have rules about carriers, which you should double-check before traveling.

I believe the airline has admitted that they twice wrongfully told her she could fly with the hamster, and only corrected the mistake when she got to the gate. That part of the story is apparently true. They deny they told her to flush it.

And the hamster was flying as an emotional support animal- those fall under different regulations than pets- there is no fee, no booking, and different rules than the pet policy.

 

That said, it was ultimately HER decision to kill the hamster. Even if the airline personnel suggested flushing it, there's something seriously wrong with someone who would follow those instructions to a T without question. This is particularly even MORE so when you consider that the animal was an ESA- that is, an animal SO important to her health that a doctor prescribed it and she believed she could not fly without it's support. I really fail to see where she gets off blaming the airline- nobody forced her to kill it, that was her doing.

[animalpetlover21]

I hate that she did that. She could have just left it with a friend or some pet sitter online at care.com not drowned it or set it free. I'm sorry I just don't want to talk about this.....

[Sarahs~Hamsters]

No one can push u too flush your hamster down the toilet. In simple words, she killed her own hamster.

I feel sad for the animal and anger at the girl who flushed her pet down the toilet. Who does that in there right mind.

[ChadLikesPasta]

Yep. I heard about this the other day. Poor pebbles..

 

I'll be honest, i wonder if she actually killed it. She may have simply said that to be able to sue the airlines, i know she said she got another animal recently, i'm wondering if she just kept it alive and said they pressured her to kill it? would explain why she's had 0 charges brought on her. I'm hoping she didn't actually kill that animal.

 

Honestly if i ever met her i dont know what i'd do. I cant imagine. And she wants to play the victim.. she should be in a jail cell and not be permitted to have any animal if she really did this. Unfortunately, the UK really does let a lot of people off the hook for crimes like this. The UK is kind of a messed up place right now. I'm British and I left.

 

There is a petition to bring charges on her though, so you can find and sign that. I did.