USDA Investigating Deaths of 25 Puppies Left Unattended on Jet

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it is investigating the deaths of more than 2 dozen purebred puppies found dead aboard a United Airlines flight from Chicago to San Diego.

When Flight 141 landed at Lindbergh Field about 3 p.m. Thursday, 24 dead puppies were found in the cargo area, said Rob Doughty, a United spokesman in Chicago.

Another puppy died later at a San Diego veterinary clinic.

Airline executives suspect that the puppies might have died from overheating. The plane was delayed because of a mechanical problem for two hours, and no one unloaded them, Doughty said.

Temperatures in the upper 90s were reported in Chicago on Thursday, and near the plane the mercury hovered near 100 degrees, Doughty said.

The puppies were part of a shipment of 27 puppies and two kittens going to a kennel in San Diego. Officials would not release the name of the kennel.

Flight 141 was scheduled to take off from O’Hare International Airport shortly before 11 a.m. Chicago time Thursday, but an engine heating problem kept the DC-8 on the ground.

When the plane returned for repairs, it went to a different gate, and the original ground crew that handled the animals was not there and did not know the plane had never taken off, Doughty said.

During the repairs, he said, proper airline procedures apparently were not followed. They would have included opening the door to ventilate the cargo hull or checking to see if animals were on board.

“If our procedures had been followed, this should not have happened,” Doughty said, adding that United ships more than 60,000 animals a year.

Normally, Doughty said, animals are unloaded from a plane and taken to a cool holding area if the delay is longer than 45 minutes.

The remains of six of the puppies were turned over Friday to the office of the San Diego County Veterinarian for necropsies, said Denise Bradley, an animal health technician for the county veterinarian.

The six, no more than 8 weeks old, were a husky, a Labrador retriever, a Shetland sheep dog, a Shih Tzu, a poodle and a beagle.

Results of the necropsies will not be available for a couple of weeks, Bradley said.

It will also take a couple of weeks for the Department of Agriculture to complete its investigation, said Dr. William DeHaven, a sector supervisor for the department’s animal care division in Sacramento. The department enforces the Animal Welfare Act, which includes regulations for shipping animals in airplanes.

According to the act, the temperature where animals are kept should not be higher than 85 degrees or lower than 45.

Dogs can become overheated when the temperature around them grows hotter than about 110 degrees, because they cannot cool their bodies effectively by panting, Bradley said.

Overheating is the common cause of death for animals who are left in unventilated cars during the summer.

If United Airlines is found at fault, penalties can range from a warning letter to suspension of their registration to carry animals, DeHaven said.

But he backed away from any speculation on the case.

“I am not pointing the finger and not saying anyone is guilty at this point in time.”