According to a report in the Miami Herald, Belen Aldecosea, a 21-year-old student from Florida, flushed her emotional support hamster, Pebbles, down a toilet after being instructed to do so by a Spirit employee.
Aldecosea claims that she contacted Spirit before her flight and received permission to bring Pebbles on board. However, when she got to the airport, she was denied entry onto the flight with Pebbles, and a Spirit employee told Aldecosea that her two options were to either flush Pebbles or to let the animal free.
Aldecosea chose to flush Pebbles, saying she could not bear thinking of her hamster freezing to death or getting hit.
“She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet,” Aldecosea said. “I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.”
