Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #483

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Flying Home From Central Pa., She Says An Airline Told Her To Flush Her Hamster. She Did
By Eileen Joyce
A Pennsylvania student traveling home to Florida flushed her emo- tional support hamster down the toilet at the airport in Baltimore, according to report in the Miami Herald.
Belen Aldecosea, 21, of Miami Beach, bought her dwarf ham- ster, Pebbles, at a Pennsylvania Petco after a being shaken by a cancer scare. She dropped out of Wilson College in Chambersburg and was flying home to Fort Lauderdale from Baltimore–Washin gton International Airport on November 21 to
have a growth removed, accord- ing to the Miami Herald.
Aldescosea said she called Spirit Airlines to confirm that she would be able to fly with the hamster, but when she arrived at the airport was told that she
would not be able to take Pebbles with her.
She says an air- line representa- tive suggested flushing Pebbles down an airport toilet, a direction that Spirit denies.
Aldecosea said she unsuccessful-
ly tried renting a car and agonized for hours before doing the unthink- able. But she finally made the decision to flush Pebbles down the toilet.
“She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying try- ing to put her in
the toilet,” Aldecosea told the Miami Herald. “I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.”
Aldecosea, who now attends Texas State University, is con- sidering suing
Spirit Airlines over the conflicting instructions. Spirit does acknowl- edge that a reser- vation representa- tive incorrectly informed her that she would be allowed to fly with the hamster.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine