A 10-month-old puppy has died after its owners were forced to put it in the overhead locker on a United Airlines flight.
The French Bulldog, called Kokito, spent three-and-a-half-hours in the compartment from Houston to New York on Monday.
Witnesses said that her owner, Catelina Robledo, and her daughter Sophia were pressured into putting Kokito into the apartment by cabin crew. Sophia, 11, said:
‘My mom was like “it’s a dog, it’s a dog” and [the flight attendant] said “you have to put it up there.’
According to Metro,during the flight they heard Kokito bark, but were unable to get up to check on her because of turbulence.
As soon as they opened the compartment they realised Kokito had died. 
According to fellow passenger Maggie Gremminger, the Ms Robledo wanted to keep the dog, which was in a small carrying bag, under her seat, but the flight attendant insisted that she put the animal overhead.
‘At the end of the flight, the woman found her dog, deceased. She sat in the airplane aisle on the floor crying, and all of surrounding passengers were utterly stunned,’ Gremminger wrote in a series of tweets alongside a picture of the woman and her children.
United Airlines has said that it will accept full responsibility for what happened.
Now, in the wake of the tragedy, the airline may have to pay a hefty price for their mistake, as Illinois law allows the victim to be reimbursed for the dog, as well as her “emotional distress” and more, including $25,000 in punitive damages if a court decides the dog died from abuse or neglect. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Regardless of the amount the airline will have to pay.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
