Qantas accused of neglect after dog left on tarmac in 39C heat dies during flight

‘All I could do was scream no, no, no,’ says owner

Duke died during a Qantas flight (Kay Newman)

A women has accused Qantas of neglect after her dog died during a flight from Sydney to Brisbane in Australia.

Kay Newman described the incident as “100 per cent preventable” in an emotive Facebook post.

Ms Newman claimed her beloved boxer Duke was left out on the tarmac in the 39C heat for too long before his crate was loaded onto the plane.

Having stayed with her dog until the last possible moment, Ms Newman said she had already taken all possible steps to keep Duke cool.

“I used two bottles of ice water to soak Duke down as well as a towel for him to lay on, and filled up the water bowl. I kept the third bottle completely frozen and placed that in the crate with him,” she said.

However, when she arrived at the gate and looked out of the window, she was alarmed to see Duke’s crate already out on the tarmac, with no protection against the searing sun.

“I’m not sure how long he’d already been there but as I watched, five, 10, 15 minutes passed, and he was still out there, in the crate, in that heat,” said Ms Newman.

She raised her concerns with Qantas staff, who assured her Duke would be fine.

As passengers started to board and Duke remained on the tarmac, Ms Newman became increasingly distressed.

“[I] started to cry as I once again told Qantas staff of my concerns about Duke being out in the heat all this time and explained that boxers don’t tolerate heat very well.

“I was told that I needed to board as I was the last passenger and that Duke would now be loaded and that the cargo hold is air conditioned so he will be fine.”

Ms Newman was reassured once more when she boarded the plane – the captain even contacted ground crew to check on Duke, who allegedly reported he was fine.

However, when Ms Newman went to pick up Duke at Brisbane airport, she was summoned to a back room and told he had passed away at some point during the flight.

“I was beside myself, all I could do was scream no, no, no,” she said. “I demanded to see Duke because I didn’t want to believe what was happening.

“Duke was still in the crate and when I reached in and put my arms around him, I knew immediately why he died because the heat coming from the underside of his body, and the bottom of his crate, was immense.”

Ms Newman claims Qantas staff did not exercise their duty of care or use common sense.

“Instead they treated Duke as though he was nothing but luggage and as a result he suffered an unimaginable death,” she added.

“Qantas staff who neglected to care for Duke on that day should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.”

Ms Newman is demanding the airline reassess its current guidelines on animal care and put protocols in place to ensure other pets don’t meet the same fate. She has even started a petition, which has garnered 58,000 signatures at the time of writing, calling on the airline to undertake a full review of its policies and procedures.

At the time of her Facebook post on 9 January, three weeks after the incident, she said she was still waiting for results of an investigation into Duke’s death.

“I am blessed and so grateful to have been Duke’s mum for the past six and half years,” she finished. “He was beautiful inside and out, he loved everyone he met and was loved by all who met him.

“Words can’t describe how much I miss Duke or how devastated I and my family are over his death.”

A Qantas spokesperson told The Independent: “We have expressed our sympathies to Kay about the passing of her dog, Duke.

“There was an unexpected delay with the flight which meant he was on the tarmac for longer than usual but our baggage handlers said Duke was fine when he was loaded onto the aircraft.

“Snub nosed dogs, such as boxers, bulldogs and pugs can suffer from respiratory issues which means they are at a higher risk when travelling by air.”

The story precedes another incident of a dog dying on a domestic Qantas flight in Australia.

Anthony Balletta said he had to be carried out of the airport upon discovering that his bulldog Frank had died during a Sydney-Melbourne flight just before Christmas.

He told news.com.au: “I never thought I could love someone as much as I loved Frank. He came into work with me every day, he used to make everyone smile.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before in my whole life.”

A Qantas spokesman told the publication: “We can understand for Mr Balletta and his family that what’s occurred is very distressing.

“An investigation found there were no issues onboard the aircraft or during the journey with all procedures followed.”