Travel United to issue special pet carrier tags after dog's death

"To prevent this from happening again, by April we will issue bright colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets," United said in a statement.

The Pet Travel Policies for North America's Top Airlines: Which Pets Are Allowed to Fly and How

Airlines have found themselves knee-deep in drama recently due to misunderstandings over their pet travel policies. Between the peacocks, the dog deaths and the hamsters, we are here to set the record straight. While some airlines in North America are more welcoming to animals than others, all of them have clear pet policies.

United Airlines has announced it will issue special bag tags for animal carriers after a French bulldog puppy died after being forced into an overhead bin. The family that owned the dog and other passengers contradicted the airline’s account, saying the dog ’ s barks were audible from inside the bin.

A dog died on a United Airlines plane after a flight attendant ordered its owner to put the animal in the plane’ s overhead bin. CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has announced it will issue special bag tags for animal carriers and prosecutors have launched an investigation to determine if criminal

The family that owned the dog and other passengers contradicted the airline's account, saying the dog's barks were audible from inside the bin.

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Eleven-year-old Sophia Ceballos told NBC News that her mother told the flight attendant "'It's a dog, it's a dog,' and (the flight attendant) said we have to put it up there," in the bin.

Other passengers backed up the family's account on Twitter and Facebook.

Late Wednesday, the Harris County, Texas, district attorney's office said its animal cruelty division is working with the county's animal cruelty task force on a criminal investigation about what happened on the plane.

Heed these tips on how to ensure a safe, uneventful flight with your pet

News that a dog died after being placed in the overhead bin of a three-hour flight with United Airlines serves as a tragic reminder on how to safely fly with pets. Calling the incident a tragic accident, the US carrier has issued an apology to the family aboard the Monday night flight from Houston to New York, and said they assume full responsibility for the death of the French bulldog puppy.

A dog died on a United Airlines plane after a flight attendant ordered its owner to put the animal in the plane' s overhead bin. CHICAGO — United Airlines has announced it will issue special bag tags for animal carriers and prosecutors have launched an investigation to determine if criminal charges are

United Airlines has announced it will issue special bag tags for animal carriers and prosecutors have launched an investigation to determine if criminal charges are warranted following the death of a French bulldog puppy that was forced into an overhead bin on a United flight.

A statement from prosecutors said they won't decide if criminal charges are warranted until the investigation is completed.

The Associated Press sent an email seeing comment Thursday on the criminal investigation to an airline spokesman.

Last year, 18 animals, mostly dogs, died while being transported on United — three-fourths of all animal deaths on U.S. carriers, according to the Department of Transportation. Those figures represent animals that die in cargo holds.

© The Associated Press FILE - In this March 15, 2017, file photo, United Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport in New York. A dog died on a United Airlines plane after a flight attendant ordered its owner to put the animal in the plane's overhead bin. United said Tuesday, March 13, 2018, that it took full responsibility for the incident on the Monday night flight from Houston to New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) It is rare that an animal dies on a plane. Even on United, there was only one death for roughly every 4,500 animals transported last year.

United, which promotes its pet-shipping program called PetSafe, carries more animals than any other airline, but its animal-death rate is also the highest in the industry. Alaska Airlines, which carries only 17 percent fewer animals, had just two deaths last year.

RELATED: United Accepts Responsibility for Death of Dog on Airplane (Provided by Inside Edition)