When was the last time that you have broken the rules because you have no choice but to do it? Sometimes, it is necessary to break the rules to do the right thing. In this story, some flight attendants were forced to break protocol just to save a little dog’s life. And boy, were they glad that they did!
Michele and Steven Burt brought their three dogs in carriers with them on their JetBlue flight that was heading from Florida to Massachusetts. They placed all of them under their seats and at some point, they noticed that their small French Bulldog was having a hard time breathing.
Midway through the flight, Michele noticed that her French Bulldog “Darcy” was trying to push her face out of the door. When she unzipped the door to check on Darcy, Michele knew that something was very wrong.
She said, “I noticed that her tongue was blue, and I am aware that is a sign of insufficient oxygen (Hypoxia), so I pulled her out from under the seat and placed her on my lap to cool down and help her relax as she was panicking and breathing frantically.”
At first, the flight attendant called Michele’s attention when she saw that her dog was out. This is strictly against the rules and of course, Michele is aware of it. However, she knew that her dog was in grave danger and might not survive if she puts Darcy bag to her carrier.
When Michelle told the flight attendant how sick Darcy was, she quickly grabbed her fellow crew members and they all sprung to action.
Flight attendants Renaud Spencer and Diane Asher grabbed some ice bags to help Darcy cool down. This didn’t seem to help though. So Renaud came up with a different idea. And Michele knew that this was what saved Darcy.
Michele shared, “Renaud, who explained that he also had a French Bulldog ‘Penelope,’ brought a small oxygen tank with a mask attached and offered it saying, ‘Maybe this will help.’
And once the mask was over Darcy’s face, she was finally able to breathe. She started to calm down and she became more alert again.
Michele said, “I believe Renaud and Diane saved a life, some may reduce the value of life because Darcy is a canine — I do not.”
What the flight attendants did was strictly against the rules, and they knew that they had violated protocol. But according to JetBlue, they couldn’t be prouder. In its released statement, JetBlue praised them for their actions stating: “Our mission is to inspire humanity, and we’re very proud of those outstanding crew members who consistently demonstrate a passion for excellent customer service.”
Dogs are part of our families and we never want them to suffer. Most of us bring our dogs and other pets anywhere with us. Even for some people, even when they have to travel by plane, they make sure that the dogs are well and equipped to safely travel.
For sure this was an isolated incident. But thankfully, the flight attendants were quick to help even though they knew that they might be putting their jobs at risk.
We applaud these flight attendants for going above and beyond and did whatever they could to save Darcy’s life!
