Instead of boarding a Spirit Airlines flight, an emotional support dwarf hamster, Pebbles, took the stairway to heaven. (Well, actually it was flushed down the toilet but that doesn't sound as nice.)
Miami Herald reports that Belen Aldecosea brought her hamster along with her to the airport after she was reportedly told that she could board with the pet. However, when she arrived at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, she was told that Pebbles wouldn't be allowed on the plane. That's when Aldecosea said that an airline representative suggested that she flush the hamster down the toilet or let it loose outside. Aldecosea told the Miami paper that she was emotionally flustered and even tried to rent a car. Unfortunately, her attempt was futile and she ended up taking the alleged advice to flush the poor hamster down the toilet.
“She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet," said Aldecosea. "I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall."
Now, Aldecosea is considering filing a lawsuit against Spirit for giving her false information about letting Pebbles board the flight.
This news comes after United Airlines denied an emotional support peacock, Dexter, from boarding a plane. Luckily, that news ended up way happier than this, as the peacock went on a cross-country road-trip instead of taking a plunge down the pipes.
Although, Aldecosea's lawyer, Adam Goodman, was quick to note the differences between the two cases. "This wasn’t a giant peacock that could pose a danger to other passengers," he said to the Herald. "This was a tiny cute harmless hamster that could fit in the palm of her hand."
Spirit has since owned up to giving Aldecosea the wrong information but a spokesperson denied that anyone suggested such a terrible deed. "We can say confidently that at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal," said the spokesperson, Derek Dombrowski, according to the paper. "It is incredibly disheartening to hear this guest reportedly decided to end her own pet’s life." Disheartening, indeed.
