A woman was shocked to discover that her beloved service dog had died after it went on a three-hour flight from Guangzhou, China, to Seoul, South Korea, on 3 Sept.
The owner, Jingwen Liang, is now seeking answers from Korean Air regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of her six-year-old dog, Bubble.
She claimed these had not been clarified to her by the airline despite her requests.
Ms Liang shared that she and Bubble — whom she described as an experienced traveller — were travelling from Guangzhou to Los Angeles (LA), USA.
Bubble was allowed to travel in the cabin with her in the second leg of the flight from Seoul to LA.
However, she had to travel in cargo from China to Seoul since she was a large dog.
Source: @jenn_jwww on Threads
Ms Liang said Bubble has been her emotional support dog for five years and provided her company whenever she was not feeling the best.
As such, she lamented not being there for her dog in her final moments and not knowing what had happened to her.
“I handed Bubble to Korean Air alive. When I finally saw her again, they returned her body to me,” she wrote in a Threads post on 4 Sept.
“To this day, I still don’t know how she died.”
What left the pet owner with more questions was the nearly two-hour gap between the plane landing and when she finally reunited with Bubble and found her deceased.
“Where was she? Who had her? What condition was she in? When did someone notice something was wrong?” she questioned. “Did anyone check her vital signs, call a veterinarian, or try to save her?”
Ms Liang also wondered if Bubble had still been alive when she got off the plane and could have been saved.
Source: @jenn_jwww on Threads
“If she was already dead when the plane landed show me the records,” she demanded of the airline.
“If she was still alive, why wasn’t she immediately taken for emergency veterinary care?”
Ms Liang said she has requested CCTV footage, transport and handover records, staff reports, medical and veterinary records, and documentation of Bubble’s death.
However, she has yet to receive any of these from the airline.
Additionally, she sought direct contact with a person in charge of Bubble’s case, but has had no success.
“I was told certain information could not be provided because of “privacy” or internal policies, and ultimately I was directed to submit everything through Korean Air’s website,” she lamented, adding:
My child died while in your care. This is not a missing suitcase.
Ms Liang also said she has formally filed a complaint, a compensation claim, and a request to preserve all evidence.
However, she still doesn’t know who is investigating her dog’s death and whether evidence has been preserved.
Ms Liang further claimed that Korean Air had responded differently following a similar incident last year.
She said the Korean pet owner shared on social media that their pet received medical assistance and was taken to an animal hospital.
The airline had also covered related expenses including cremation.
Thus, she questioned why Bubble did not receive medical attention, adding that she paid for her cremation and related expenses herself.
Source: @jenn_jwww on Instagram
“Why was my child treated so differently?” she asked.
Ms Liang believes the airline owes her an explanation since they had responded to a similar tragedy in a contrasting way in the past.
“Korean Air, I know you cannot bring her back. So please, give me back the missing hours of her life,” she pleaded.
Give me the records. Tell me when she died, what happened, and whether anyone tried to save her. I should not have to spend the rest of my life guessing how my child died.
On 7 Sept, Korean Air posted a notice on its Instagram account regarding the issue.
They began by extending their condolences to the customer who lost their beloved pet.
They then explained that the dog was found deceased in its crate upon flight KE 868’s arrival at Incheon International Airport.
Source: @koreanair on Instagram
“We verified that all environmental control systems essential for animal transport functioned normally throughout the flight, and all other pets traveling on the same flight arrived safely without incident,” they shared.
The airline claimed their team had communicated with the customer since her arrival date to share available information.
They said they are currently reviewing her additional enquiries, adding that they “remain committed to transparent communication”.
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Featured image adapted from @jenn_jwww on Threads.