Belen Aldecosea is a 21 year old student from Miami Beach, Florida. Recently, she was headed back to South Florida from Baltimore on a Spirit Airlines flight. She claims that she called the airline in advance and was told she could bring her emotional support hamster, Pebbles, on the flight. However, when she arrived, she says the airline refused to let her bring Pebbles on the plane.
Aldecosea says she didn't have many options because her family was back in Florida and her friends were hours away. She tried to skip her flight and rent a car instead, but was too young to rent.
Belen claims that a Spirit Airlines employee suggested that she either flush the hamster down the toilet or set the little guy free. When faced with the decision, she felt that flushing the animal was the most humane thing to do, claiming she was afraid the hamster would freeze to death or get hit.
Spirit Airlines denied that any such suggestion was made to the student stating,