The dog Joca died due to human error. He was a dog, a 5-year-old Golden Retriever, who died because he boarded the wrong plane: he was supposed to fly for only two hours, but his flight lasted eight. Too much for his physique. The tragedy occurred in Brazil and sparked public anger.
The Gol airline, one of the three main airlines in the South American country, mistakenly boarded the dog on a different flight from that of its owner Joao Fantazzini: Joca should have left the international airport of Sao Paulo headed for Sinop, in Mato Grosso, but the airline put him on another flight destined for the municipality of Fortaleza.
Fantazzini holds the airline responsible and described the accident as a “murder”: the owner, in an interview with the Brazilian network Globo, said that his pet spent an hour and a half on the airport’s landing strip Fortaleza airport. All that time Joca remained in his cage without food and at a temperature of 36 degrees.
In a post on Instagram, Fantazzini said that “his love” was murdered, apologized to his pet “for being selfish in wanting you by my side” and dedicated words of affection to her. “You will forever be the love of my life. I remember you every day. I miss giving you your apple every morning, taking you to the pool and taking care of you every day. Thank you for everything my friend,” she wrote.
The case caused such a stir that even the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, intervened on the matter and during a public event, where he appeared wearing a tie with drawings of dogs to commemorate Joca’s death, he said: “I believe that Gol must be held responsible and that Anac (National Agency for Civil Aviation) must monitor this […] We cannot allow this to continue to happen in Brazil.”
Anac has already announced that it has opened an investigation and has clarified that airlines are responsible for the transport of pets. Gol said she “deeply regrets the dog’s death.”
v
