A Singaporean family has accused Singapore Airlines (SIA) of dishonesty, negligence, irresponsibility and indifference after their pet dog died under the airline’s care on Sept 2.
In a very lengthy and detailed Facebook post, Shabana Mary Kuruvilla revealed her account of the incident, which ended with a police report lodged against SIA for the death of her four-year-old cocker spaniel, Charlie.
Here’s what happened, in a format that’s not a wall of text:
- Migrating to Vietnam, Shabana and her family had been scheduled to fly to Ho Chi Minh City on the afternoon of Sept 2. Charlie came along for the flight.
- Placed in a crate, the dog was handed over to the pet handling staff was anxiously barking. Shabana offered them a leash for Charlie in case they needed to open the crate and calm him down, but staff said they didn’t need it. He was wheeled away around 11am.
- Later at the boarding gate, Charlie’s owners were informed that the dog was “a bit anxious and had some mucus”. The family was asked if they’d like to see the dog, but they turned down the offer as they didn’t want to make it more anxious before boarding.
- After boarding the aircraft, the plane captain made an announcement that there was a pet on board the aircraft.
- After landing in Ho Chi Minh, the family was taken aside and informed by SIA staff that their dog passed away before the flight — Charlie died in Singapore and didn’t even make it onto the plane.
- On why the information wasn’t relayed earlier, Shabana said that they were “told that the gates had closed and they did not want to delay the flight and that is why they felt they should not inform us.”
- SIA staff in Vietnam had no details of the dog’s death and simply wanted to know the family’s decision on what to do with its body.
- Calling from Singapore, a staff member reminded Shabana that they had already informed her about Charlie’s mucus situation and given the family a chance to see him.
- Shabana took issue with the fact that they did not inform her family that Charlie had actually been severely distressed.
- The captain apparently made the announcement about a pet on board the flight as he was not informed in time. Since SIA staff did not want to delay the flight, they chose to inform the family of the dog’s death only on arrival. Charlie’s body stayed behind in Singapore, as they couldn’t put a dead dog on a plane.
- After settling some things in Vietnam, Shabana and her husband took the next flight back to Singapore. Airline staff at Changi Airport had a placard with her husband’s name, and they took the couple to an area where Charlie’s body was.
- “There was evidence of a big struggle due to distress,” Shabana wrote. “He had chewed up the entire wee pad made of cotton.”
- Upon further questioning, the couple was told that the pet handling staff weren’t actually trained to handle animals — their job was simply to move them to a pet holding area. The passenger services station manager who was in charge said he wasn’t aware of what exactly happened during the earlier shift.
- Angry that they weren’t getting any answers, the couple filed a report with the police at Changi Airport. Their complaint was registered, and pictures of Charlie’s body were taken. An SIA officer who accompanied them was suspected to be providing updates of the incident to management.
- The undertakers were called in to collect Charlie’s body after the complaint was filed. According to Shabana, it was only then that they saw that Charlie had “chewed off his paw partially” and attempted to use his paws to break open the crate. He also chewed up the cotton pad in a panic. “He appears to have suffered a heart attack from the stress,” she wrote.
- Charlie’s ashes were delivered the next day, and the couple took a flight back to Ho Chi Minh. They noted that SIA had yet to contact them.
- While on the flight, a stewardess approached them after noticing the couple crying. After they disclosed the situation to her, the stewardess informed her flight manager, who assured the couple that he would report it to the appropriate parties.
- It was in the morning of Sept 4 that the couple received an email promising that SIA would be looking into the incident.
“Singapore Airlines is responsible for our pet’s death. He was a perfectly healthy dog. They were clearly trying to cover up negligence on their part,” wrote a clearly upset Shabana.
“Please do not use Singapore Airlines till the time they bring about changes in the policies with respect to pet handling. They intended to brush the whole incident under the carpet and did not accept responsibility.”
SIA, on its part, confirmed to TODAY that Charlie died in his crate while being transferred to the aircraft at Changi Airport. Not further details can be provided about the incident for now due to ongoing investigations, but SIA assured that it’ll contact the family as soon as it has the facts.
