Earlier this week, onboard United flight 1284 from Houston to New York’s LaGuardia, a french bulldog died, after a flight attendant insisted that the passenger put their bag in the overhead bin, even though they claimed they told her that they had a dog in. United has had their fair share of bad publicity the last year and it seems like it’s just continuing with their airline.

Per ABC News,

The family is alleging that the United employee knew there was a dog in the bag when asked to place it in the overhead bin.

“The flight attendant came, and she was like, ‘You have to put him up there because it’s going to block the path,'” said Sophia, speaking on behalf of her mother, who isn’t fluent in English. “And we were like, ‘It’s a dog, it’s a dog.” And she said, ‘It doesn’t matter, you still have to put it up there.'”

A passenger on the flight told ABC News that the flight attendant didn’t know there was a dog in the bag when she insisted on moving it to the overhead compartment. Upon hearing that there was a dog in the bag after the flight landed the flight attendant “seemed frazzled and shocked,” the passenger said. “She said that she did not know there was a dog in the bag, and if so she never would have instructed it to be put in the bin above.”

The mother and daughter boarded the three-hour flight from Houston to New York intending to keep the puppy in its carrier on the floor near their seats, but they were instructed to place it in the bin.

Something here just doesn’t add up especially when you take a look at United’s pet policy per the website:

A pet traveling in cabin must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel. The kennel must fit completely under the seat in front of the customer and remain there at all times. The maximum dimensions for hard-sided kennels are 17.5 inches long x 12 inches wide x 7.5 inches high (44 cm x 30 cm x 19 cm). The recommended maximum dimensions for soft-sided kennels are 18 inches long x 11 inches wide x 11 inches high (46 cm x 28 cm x 28 cm). Soft-sided pet carriers may exceed these dimensions slightly, as they are collapsible and able to conform to under-seat space without blocking the aisle. With the exception of birds, there may only be one pet per kennel, and the animal must be able to stand up and turn around comfortably. Two birds may travel in the same kennel.

This is such a tragic story on so many levels, that there aren’t even words to describe what went wrong. Our hearts are with the family who lost a member of their family.