The ten-month-old puppy boarded the plane in a standard pet carrier and was placed under the seat in front of its family, in a fashion most flights with animals request.
The bulldog died on the United Airlines flight from Houston Texas to New York on Monday.
The dog’s companions – a woman, a teenage girl and a baby – heard it barking through the flight.
Unfortunately, the puppy was found dead when the plane landed.
The disaster has also been met with a slew of solemn messages on social media.
Maggie Gremminger uploaded a photo of the dog’s owners and tweeted: “I want to help this woman and her daughter.
“They lost their dog because of an @united flight attendant. My heart is broken.”
A fellow passenger on the flight, June Lara, posted to Facebook: “There was no sound as we landed and opened his kennel.
“There was no movement as his family called his name.
“I held her baby as the mother attempted to resuscitate their 10-month-old puppy.
“They INSISTED that the puppy be locked up for three hours without any kind of airflow.
“They assured the safety of the family’s pet so wearily, the mother agreed.”
United is now facing not-too-unfamiliar backlash as posts like Gremminger and Lara’s go viral.
One Twitter user wrote: “Another reason I will never ever fly or support doing business with United Airlines!”
A United spokesman addressed the incident in a statement to The Points Guy: “This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin.
“We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them.
“We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again.”
According to United’s website, its policy for onboard pets is: “A pet traveling in a cabin must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel.
“The kennel must fit completely under the seat in front of the customer and remain there at all times.”
Last year, United lost one billion dollars market value in just one day after flight attendants dragged a 69-year-old doctor off a flight to make room for their own staff.