July 2025 Animal Transport Consumer Report (ATCR)

Summary

This month we had two incidents involving animal transport:

Alaska Airlines Flight AS645 on May 15, 2025 had an injury incident involving a Cocker Spaniel named Benson that fell off a belt loader during download operations.

Delta Airlines Flight DL3008 on May 2, 2025 had an injury incident involving a 10-year-old male neutered Shiba Inu mix named Sushi that escaped its crate during transport and sustained mouth injuries.

Incident Reports

Incident 1: Alaska Airlines

Carrier & Flight Number: AS645
Date and Time of Incident: May 15, 2025
Description of the Animal: Cocker Spaniel – Benson

Narrative of Incident: Dog fell off belt loader on download. Belt loader was turned off and agent walked up to belt loader and turned on.

Narrative of Cause: Equipment operation procedures not followed - belt loader was activated without proper safety check.

Narrative of Corrective Action: Follow up with agents and send communications to agents to check belt loader before operating it.

Incident 2: Delta Airlines

Carrier & Flight Number: DL3008
Date and Time of Incident: May 2, 2025 @ 10:51 AM
Description of the Animal: Sushi - 10-year-old, Male neutered Shiba Inu mix

Narrative of Incident: An adult dog was traveling via Delta Cargo inbound into ATL from DAY. Upon arrival, agents noticed that the dog was outside its crate and was found inside the cargo hold of the aircraft. Local animal control was called to retrieve the pet from the cargo hold. It was noticed that the pet was bleeding from its mouth, thus he was immediately taken to a local emergency animal hospital for veterinary care. A veterinarian examined the pet, and it was determined that the dog sustained injuries to its mouth, presumably while escaping its crate. The dog was bleeding from its gums and multiple teeth were broken or missing. No other abnormalities were noted with the pet. The veterinarian examined the dog and determined that bleeding had stopped and there was no need for surgery or sutures for the pet. After receiving veterinary care (medication for pain relief and antibiotics) the pet was released to move forward to its destination. The following day, the pet travel crate was replaced with an IATA compliant crate and the dog was transported to its destination in SEA. Contact with the pet owner was maintained the entire time. The pet arrived in SEA without incident and was reunited with its owner.

Narrative of Cause: No external damage to the crate was identified from falling objects. The crate was intact, however the grid covering the ventilation opening on one side of the crate was found adjacent to the crate. Blood was noted below the ventilation opening. The opening allowed the dog to escape the crate. We suspect that the dog damaged the crate and obtained injuries to its mouth during the process of escaping its crate. Based upon the findings, we determined that the injuries were self-inflicted.

Narrative of Corrective Action: All agents followed Delta Cargo's internal procedures to obtain veterinary care for the injured dog. No corrective actions required.

Safe travels to you and your pets!

As required by 14 CFR Part 235, these reports cover incidents involving the loss, injury or death of animals during scheduled domestic or international passenger transportation by U.S. carriers operating aircraft with 60 or more seats.