That year, the airline had 14 deaths and nine injuries (yes, the reverse of the 2016 stats) out of 97,156 animals transported. And the kitten died of “pulmonary edema.”But some owners whose dogs died on United flights — or just afterward — have accused the airline of shoddy treatment of their beloved pets. In 2012, fashion model Maggie Rizer flew two of her golden retrievers on a United flight from New York to San Francisco. Around the time of the incident with Rizer’s dog, United flew a 2-year-old Neapolitan mastiff from Miami to San Francisco with a three-hour layover in Houston. Once, as I sat at the gate with Arnold, flight attendants there told me just to bring him on board since the flight wasn’t crowded.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 13, 2017 10:02 UTC