Catalina Robledo Woman whose Dog died on a United Flight

Catalina Robledo

Catalina Robledo is the woman who according to her own account, lost her dog while traveling with United Airlines.

Ms. Robledo told outlets she and her two children were headed to New York from Houston when her French bulldog was stuffed into the overhead compartment of a UA flight. The dog owner says she begged the hostess not to put her dog up there to no avail.

Catalina Robledo spoke to Telemundo in Spanish and revealed she could not do a thing to save her dog named Kokito –because her newborn baby was in her lap and the plane was going through turbulence. She says her now deceased dog barked and barked but the crew didn’t care.

When she was finally able to stand Robledo quickly checked on Kokito but it was too late for him.

According to the NY Daily News, Kokito was reportedly in an approved dog carrier that the flight crew said was blocking the aisle, so a stewardess put the case in the overhead storage bin. According to her 11-year-old daughter, her mom advised the crew there was a dog in the carrier but when Catalina finally got to him and found him dead, the stewardess claimed she didn’t know there was a dog inside.

Catalina Robledo and her daughter left the plane in tears. Kokito who was only ten-months old, had been a birthday gift.

Other passengers confirmed Catalina’s story. A spokesperson for UA took responsibility for the tragic accident. Robledo’s tickets were refunded, along with a $200 fee charged for carrying a pet.

Robledo, a New York resident, is the mother of 11-year-old daughter Sofia and of a two-month-old son. She and her children were returning from Houston –where her husband is working.