Maggie Rizer: Supermodel Claims United Airlines Killed Her Dog

Supermodel Maggie Rizer blames United Airlines for the death of her beloved dog. The animal reportedly died mid-air as the model, her husband, and their baby were flying to San Francisco from the east coast. After landing, the family was devastated to find out that their Golden Retriever Beatrice was dead.

The delivery of the bad news was allegedly delivered in a very cold manner. According to the supermodel, when she and her family arrived in the cargo terminal, one of the hanger works was distracted significantly by his incoming text messages and emotionlessly stated that one of her animals was dead, Radar Online reports.

Maggie Rizer had this to say in her blog about United Airlines and her dead dog:

“It took thirty minutes for a supervisor to come and tell us. It was a two year old. Subsequently we requested that our dog be returned to us and were told that she had been delivered to a local vet for an autopsy. Whatever thread of trust remained between us and United broke and we then insisted that she be returned to us for our own autopsy by our trusted veterinarian.”

The tragic ordeal continued next two hours as the supervisor talked about the animal’s death. Rizer maintains that the supervisor initially lied about the dog’s death and that the twisted tale unraveled when they realized that Beatrice’s body was actually right behind a closed door in the hanger terminal. The supervisor was allegedly stalling for time while discussing how to handle the potential liability over the dead dog with the boss.

A necropsy performed by the family veterinarian revealed that the Golden Retriever had died of heat stroke. A United Airlines internal investigation allegedly did not show any irregularities on the flight and noted that other animals on board did not suffer any similar health issues. Maggie Rizer’s dog Beatrice and another pet had both undergone full examinations prior to the flight and were housed in special kennels complete with water bowls filled with ice. She paid $1,800 for transporting the pets. The supermodel is not sharing her story in preparation for a lawsuit. She noted in her blog that she wants to inform others about the possibility that when airlines do not follow proper procedures, pets can die.