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Dog found dead on Delta flight stopped in Detroit, family wants answers

Posted at 7:46 PM, Jun 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-04 08:09:59-04

A nightmare for one couple whose dog was found dead in his kennel on a Delta flight on a stop in Detroit.

The family's attorney, Evan Oshan, says he's determined to get to the bottom of it so no other family has to go through this pain again.

The dog, an 8-year-old pomeranian named Alejandro, was put on a flight from Phoenix to Newark, where the family is planning to move.

According to Delta, on a stop in Detroit, a flight attendant checked on Alejandro at 6 a.m. When he was checked on just two hours later, he was dead.

"To say they are distraught would be a gross understatement," Oshan said. "They are completely devastated."

Oshan also represented the owners of Koketo, the French bulldog who was killed on a United Airlines flight back in March.

They say a flight attendant made them put the dog in his kennel in the overhead bin until landing.

"I think this stretches beyond just pets," he said. "I think this is the way that airlines, commercial airlines in general, treat people. They are treating people horribly."

Delta released the following statement regarding the situation:

"Pets are an important member of the family and we are focused on the well-being of all animals we transport. Delta is conducting a thorough review of the situation to ensure this does not happen again and have been working directly with Alejandro's family to support them however we can. As part of that review, Delta offered to have Alejandro evaluated by a veterinarian while in our possession to find out more about why this may have occurred. We are disappointed that we were not allowed to have a necropsy performed immediately following this unfortunate situation. The family now has Alejandro and we continue to offer our support."