A boarding error resulted in the death of a golden retriever and raised debate about the transport of animals on planes.
The little dog Joca was at the airport, about to be taken from Guarulhos (São Paulo, Brazil) to Sinop (Mato Grosso). But the worst happened: his tutor, João Fantazzini, discovered that Joca was mistakenly sent to Fortaleza (Ceará). Afterwards, the animal was sent back to Guarulhos, but arrived at the airport already dead.
The case led to a series of protests and, therefore, brought together dozens of people who demonstrated against the situation at the airport. Protesters want the rules for transporting animals on planes to be revised.
Participants in the protest believe that the guardian should receive compensation from the carrier.
The company says it regrets the death of the animal, admits it sent it to Fortaleza by mistake and claims it was surprised by the death.
In the note, published on April 23, the carrier explains what happened.
“GOL sympathizes with the suffering of Joca’s guardian and his family. We understand your pain and are deeply sorry for the loss of your pet. The dog should have gone to Sinop (OPS), on flight G3 1480 on 04/22/2024, from Guarulhos (GRU). However, due to an operational failure, the animal was boarded on a flight to Fortaleza (FOR). As soon as the owner arrived in Sinop, he was notified about what had happened and his choice was to return to Guarulhos (GRU) to be reunited with his pet.
The GOLLOG team in the capital of Ceará disembarked Joca and took care of him until he boarded flight 1527 back to Guarulhos (GRU). During this period, records of Joca being accommodated back on the aircraft were sent to the guardian. Unfortunately, shortly after the flight landed at Guarulhos airport (GRU), coming from Fortaleza, we were surprised by the death of the animal.”
Sunday Spectacular – Sundays, 01:00 (Lisbon/London time).
