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United to use special tags for pet carriers after dog death

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.

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CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines plans to issue bright colored bag tags to people traveling with pets to prevent animal carriers from being placed in overhead bins following the death of a puppy on one of its flights.

The Chicago-based airline says a flight attendant who ordered the passenger to put her pet carrier in the overhead bin aboard a Houston-to-New York flight Monday didn’t know there was a dog inside.

The family and other passengers contradict the airline’s account, saying the dog’s barks were audible from inside the bin.

United said in a statement it will start issuing the tags by April.

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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 to investigate what happened on the plane.