A family is demanding answers after a their beloved pet dog died while being transferred for a connecting Delta flight.
The eight-year-old Pomeranian named Alejandro, owned by Michael Dellegrazie, was found dead in the cargo hold of a Delta Air Line jet from Phoenix to New Jersey after a layover in Detroit.
The tragic incident adds to a long line of incidents involving the deaths of animals on commercial airlines.
Delta are investigating what happened to the pup, while the owner’s family have hired a lawyer who worked on another case with similar circumstances.
Evan Oshan also represented the family of Kokito, the French bulldog that died on the United flight earlier this year.
He is trying to retrieve Alejandro’s remains so vets can perform a necropsy to see what happened.
‘There was a stop in Detroit at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning,’ Oshan told ABC News.
Alejandro had been placed in the cargo hold of a Delta Air Line jet from Phoenix to New Jersey with a layover in Detroit
‘There was a stop in Detroit at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning,’ said owner Michael Dellegrazie’s attorney, Evan Oshan. ‘Alejandro was checked on. He was fine. Then approximately at 8 o’clock and 8:30 in the morning, the dog was again checked on, he was dead, and there was vomit in the cage, according to Delta’
‘Alejandro was checked on. He was fine. Then approximately at 8 o’clock and 8:30 in the morning, the dog was again checked on, he was dead, and there was vomit in the cage, according to Delta.’
Delta offered to have a free necropsy done to have the dog evaluated
Delta offered to have a free necropsy done to have the dog evaluated, according to TMZ.
In a statement the airline said: ‘We know 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 and have been working directly with Alejandro’s family to support them however we can.
‘As part of that review, we want to find out more about why this may have occurred to ensure it doesn’t happen again and we have offered to have Alejandro evaluated by a veterinarian to learn more.’
And finding out what happened to Alejandro is Dellegrazie’s top priorty.
‘I want to know what happened,’ he said. ‘The dog is not a pet. He’s a member of our family.’
In a statement the airline said: ‘We know 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 and have been working directly with Alejandro’s family to support them however we can’
‘I want to know what happened,’ said owner Michael Dellegrazie. ‘The dog is not a pet. He’s a member of our family’
According to the Department of Transportation, 506,994 different animals were flown on U.S. airlines in 2017. Twenty-four of them died.
Oshan’s name sounds familiar because he represented the family whose 10-month-old French bulldog – Kokito – died in an overhead bin while on a United Airlines flight.
Following the dog’s death, United started a new policy to issue bright-colored tags on passengers traveling with their animal companions.