The family whose Pomeranian died while traveling with Delta accused the airline of trying to cover up the dog’s bloody death.
Michael Dellegrazie said his pup named Alejandro was found dead last Wednesday in his carrier, along with a bloody blanket during a layover at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, news station WDIV reported.
An attorney for the owner suggested someone tried to wash the dog blanket and carrier to get rid of evidence.
“It was wet,” lawyer Evan Oshan told the Associated Press. “They couldn’t get the blood stains out. There was an attempt to clean it.”
Oshan said that the dog traveled in cargo on the flight headed to Newark, New Jersey, from Phoenix. The dog was alive when the plane landed in Detroit for a layover, according to WDIV.
Nearly two hours later, the dog was discovered dead in his carrier at an airport cargo facility.
“When he landed here in Michigan, he was alive at 6:30 a.m., and then at 8:20, he wasn’t moving and it just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Dellegrazie told the news station, adding that the 8-year-old dog passed a physical before the trip.
A necropsy will be performed on the Pomeranian to determine what caused his death.
Dellagrazie is also demanding answers from the airline.
“We lost a family member,” Dellegrazie said. “That’s exactly what happened, and somebody has to be responsible for it.”
A Delta spokesperson said the airline is “conducting a thorough review” of the incident.