'United Airlines Almost Killed My dog': Pet owner says her pet was 'near death' after airline left the animal on a 94F tarmac for nearly an hour

TEXAS -- A Boston woman is furious after she claims her dog and cat were nearly killed during a cross-country United Airlines flight after baggage handlers left the animals in their crates for more than 12 hours - including more than an hour spent outside on the tarmac in 94-degree heat.

Adding insult to injury, Janet Sinclair claims, is the fact that the airline only agreed to pay for the animals' veterinary bills if she signed a non-disclosure agreement promising not to discuss the incident with the media.

Sinclair, however, didn't sign the agreement, and has since told her story to several news outlets, as well as creating a Facebook page titled 'United Airlines Almost Killed My Greyhound.'

In July, Sinclair was moving from San Diego to Boston and decided to use United Airlines' 'PetSafe' program to transport her cat, Alika and her greyhound, Sedona.

Sinclair opted to go with the 'PetSafe' program because it promises that pets will receive personal handling in climate controlled vans and that they 'never will be exposed to temperatures greater than 85 degrees for more than 45 minutes.'

'They assured me that my animals would get a safety stop – a comfort stop – in Houston that I paid extra for,' Sinclair told NBC Bay Area.

That, however, didn't happen.

According to Sinclair, she watched as the plane waited on the runway at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and saw a cargo employee kick Sedona's crate at least six times in an attempt to shove it under the shade of the wing of the plane.

That's when Sinclair pulled out her phone and started recording how cargo workers were treating her animals.

The video Sinclair shot shows the animals being left out on the tarmac for nearly an hour. By the time the plane touched down in Boston, Sinclair says Sedona was on the verge of death.

'Sedona’s entire crate was filled with blood, feces, urine,' Sinclair said. 'Sedona was in full heat stroke. All of the blankets were filled with blood. She was urinating and defecating blood. She was dying, literally, right in front of me.

Sedona then spent three days in intensive care being treated for heat stroke.

Despite the fact that a veterinarian had given both animals a clean bill of health prior to the flight, United Airlines claims the dog's injuries were the result of a pre-existing condition.

However, the doctor who treated the greyhound wrote in his report that 'We have no reason to believe that these medical problems were due to underlying disease, and we believe that these medical problems were secondary to hyperthermia that she suffered during her United Airlines flight.'

The airline offered to pay for the dog's treatment, but only if Sinclair signed the agreement promising that she would not publicly discuss the incident.

She declined.

United Airlines has declined comment about the incident, but offered a written statement saying 'We are committed to ensuring safe and comfortable travel of all the pets that fly with us and regret that Sedona did not have a good experience. We offered to compensate Ms. Sinclair by fully reimbursing her vet bill, but unfortunately she declined to accept the terms of the agreement.'

Sinclair says that making the public aware of the incident that nearly killed her dog is worth more than being reimbursed.

'I still want to be reimbursed,' she said. 'But I’m not going to be quiet.'

(Daily Mail - Nov 22, 2013)

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