The crew of a JetBlue flight is being credited with saving the life of a 3-year-old French bulldog.
A Massachusetts couple is crediting the JetBlue crew with saving Darcy, their 3-year-old French bulldog, after she began showing signs of distress during the Thursday night flight from Orlando, Florida to Worcester, Massachusetts.
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According to a letter written to JetBlue by Steven and Michelle Burt, and later shared on Facebook, two crew members stepped in to help when their 3-year-old French bulldog began exhibiting signs of hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen in the body. After noticing that Darcy’s tongue had turned blue and that she was having difficulty breathing, the crew members brought the dog ice to help her cool down and an oxygen tank and mask to help increase her oxygen levels.
“I was passing through the cabin to check up on a passenger, and I noticed [another] passenger, who had the dog out of her crate and the dog had an indication that it wasn’t looking too well… And I believe the dog passed out,” Renaud Fenster said during an appearance on Good Morning America, according to ABC News. “I decided that we needed to consider using oxygen to support the animal. So I called the captain, and I told him, ‘I think I need to use some oxygen,’ and he said, ‘Go ahead.’ And right then and there, placed the oxygen on the dog and the dog revived like nothing else.”
After being treated with the oxygen mask for several minutes, Darcy recovered and was able to continue the flight without the supplemental oxygen.
“We all are affected by cabin pressure and oxygen fluctuations, human, canine and feline, etc., but the fact that the Attendants were responsive and attentive to the situation may have saved Darcy’s life,” the Burts wrote in their letter. “Though some may reduce the value of a pets life and applying lifesaving efforts to a dog the attendants applied their skills in a humane and caring way that I like to think represents the best in all of us as human beings.”
Following news of the crew’s lifesaving efforts, JetBlue released a statement addressing the incident.
“We all want to make sure everyone has a safe and comfortable fight, including those with four legs. We’re thankful for our crew’s quick thinking and glad everyone involved was breathing easier when the plane landed in Worcester,” the airline said.
The JetBlue crew’s quick thinking and lifesaving actions come as a stark contrast to recent headlines regarding dogs on flights, including an incident on a United Airlines flight in March in which a 10-month-old French bulldog puppy named Kokito died after a flight attendant insisted that the owner put the puppy inside of an overhead bin.
