Woman flushed hamster after being denied on flight
AFLORIDA woman says an airline told her to flush her hamster down an airport toilet because the emotional support rodent wasn’t allowed to fly with her.
The Miami Herald reports before Belen Aldecosea flew home from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster. No problem, the airline said.
But when Aldecosea arrived at the Baltimore airport, Spirit refused to allow the animal onboard.
The 21yearold told the paper she flushed Pebbles at an airline employee’s suggestion, after running out of other options.
‘‘She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet,’’ Aldecosea said. ‘‘I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.’’
A spokesman for Spirit acknowledged the airline mistakenly told Aldecosea that Pebbles was allowed. But he denied that a Spirit employee recommended flushing her pet in an airport toilet.
‘‘To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest, or any other for that matter, should flush or otherwise injure an animal,’’ spokesman Derek Dombrowski said.
But Aldecosea said she’s considering suing Spirit over the conflicting instructions that pressured her into making the decision.
Animals on flights have become controversial. The US Transportation Safety Administration has no problem with carryon hamsters. ‘‘Hamsters are welcome in our checkpoint. Their container would typically go through the Xray while the owner would hold the hamster as the passenger walks through the metal detector so the creature is not subjected to radiation,’’ according to TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz.
It’s up to airlines whether they allow hamsters on board. Most major carriers such as American, Delta and United, say no, citing safety and health concerns.
Aldecosea said she had her doctor’s letter certifying Pebbles.
During her first semester at a school in Pennsylvania, Aldecosea developed a painful growth in her neck, leading to a cancer scare. That’s when she bought Pebbles for comfort. In November, Aldecosea learned the growth was benign, but still painful. Withdrawing from school and going home hoping to have it removed, Aldecosea booked a Spirit flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale.
She twice called Spirit in advance, to verify the hamster could fly. The rep told her it was fine — an assurance that Spirit agrees was given to Aldecosea. ‘‘Our reservation representative, unfortunately, did misinform the guest that a hamster was permitted to fly as an emotional support animal on Spirit Airlines,’’ spokesman Dombrowski wrote in an email.
But as Aldecosea approached the security checkpoint on the day, with Pebbles in a small cage for carryon, a Spirit employee chased her down, and informed her that rodents weren’t allowed on the flight or in the cargo hold either.
After hectic discussions, an outraged Aldecosea accepted a flight later that day. She said she had no friends or family in town to pick up Pebbles. It was then, Aldecosea insists, that an employee suggested releasing Pebbles outside or flushing her down the toilet.
With her flight boarding, she pondered whether to let Pebbles free outside. She said she considered it more humane to end Pebble’s life right away, and not let her run around scared in the cold, only to die getting hit by a car.
‘‘I didn’t have any other options,’’ she said. — AP