Woman flushes hamster down toilet after airline refuses to let in on board

WHEN an airline told a passenger her pet wouldn’t be allowed to board the plane, this passenger said she was left with no choice.

A WOMAN is blaming an airline for making her flush her dwarf hamster, Pebbles, down the toilet.

College student Belen Aldecosea, 21, said the problem began when she called Spirit Airlines ahead of her flight from Baltimore to South Florida, and asked if it would be OK if she travelled with Pebbles.

Pebbles was a doctor-approved emotional support animal, and the beloved pet had helped Ms Aldecosea get through a difficult medical experience.

The airline told her it wouldn’t be a problem to bring a hamster on the flight, Ms Aldecosea told the Miami Herald.

But when she arrived at the airport at Baltimore, Ms Aldecosea said Spirit Airlines staff refused to let Pebbles on the plane.

And because she was out of options — her family was in Florida, she had no friends nearby, and wasn’t old enough to hire a car for the journey — Ms Aldecosea said airline staff suggested she should either let Pebbles free, or flush the hamster down the toilet.

Belen Aldecosea said she had “no choice”. Picture: Belen Aldecosea

The student said because she couldn’t bear the thought of the hamster running around in the freezing weather or getting hit by a car, she decided to do the most “humane” thing — and send Pebbles to its water grave.

“I didn’t have any other options,” she told the Herald.

“She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet.

“I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.”

Ms Aldecosea said she was now considering legal action against Spirit Airlines for “pressuring her into making an anguished decision” to effectively kill Pebbles.

But a spokesman for the airline told Fox News that while an employee was mistaken for telling Ms Aldecosea the hamster was allowed on the flight, it was not true a staffer suggested flushing the animal down the toilet.

“After researching this incident, we can say confidently that at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal,” the spokesman said.

Pebbles, a dwarf hamster, was Ms Aldecosea’s emotional support animal. Picture: Belen Aldecosea

“It is incredibly disheartening to hear this guest reportedly decided to end her own pet’s life.”

The senior vice president of animal rights group PETA, Daphna Nachminovitch, said the situation could have been easily avoided.

“One phone call could have saved this animal, or some kind person at the airport could have helped,” she said.

“Flushing a living being down the toilet is not only cruel but also illegal, and both the person who killed this animal and Spirit Airlines — if an employee did, in fact, advise the woman to drown the hamster — should be charged.

“This must have been a horrific, terrifying death.”

Emotional support animals on flights have been a contentious issue in the United States. Last week, a New York City-based passenger was denied from boarding a United Airlines flight with her emotional support peacock named Dexter.

The airline denied a staff member told Ms Aldecosea to flush away Pebbles. Picture: Belen Aldecosea

The passenger said she bought Dexter his own seat but the bird was turned away due to “health and safety” concerns. The pair drove to their destination instead.

Airlines in the United States are tightening their policies surrounding emotional support animals, including adding a requirement of a doctor’s note dated less than 48 hours prior to the flight. Delta has also ruled out a number of animals, including hedgehogs and “anything with tusks or hoofs”, allowed on board.

Ms Aldecosea’s lawyer Adam Goodman said his client’s situation was completely different to that of the peacock.

“This wasn’t a giant peacock that could pose a danger to other passengers. This was a tiny cute harmless hamster that could fit in the palm of her hand,” he said.

Originally published as Woman flushes hamster down toilet after airline refuses to let in on board