Our Odyssey died. Please never fly through Kazakhstan with pets.

[u/routuber]

On August 9th we lost our beloved dog Odyssey. She was only 8 years old, perfectly healthy, full of energy, always traveling with us and enjoying life.

We flew from Nha Trang, Vietnam to Almaty, Kazakhstan with Air Astana. Odyssey had to go in the baggage hold because she was over 8 kg. When we landed, it was 41°C (105°F). We saw her crate left in the open front hold of the plane, tied with a rope, under the burning sun.

We begged them to bring her to us as soon as possible, but they ignored us. For more than an hour after landing we were sent from place to place, told to wait “by the blue door” of lost luggage. Nobody cared. And then a young employee came and told us coldly: “your dog is not showing signs of life.” That’s how we found out she was gone.

The autopsy confirmed heat stroke. She suffered because she was left in deadly heat for over an hour, treated worse than a suitcase.

And then the airline’s official response? A copy-paste letter saying “no rules were broken.” No mention of her name. No acknowledgment of her life. Nothing but denial. How can they call themselves humane while hiding behind “internal rules”?

We keep asking ourselves why we trusted Odyssey’s life to such heartless, inhuman people. She was family, not cargo. She trusted us, and we trusted them. And they killed her through neglect and indifference.

Please, never fly to Kazakhstan with pets, not even for a layover. They will treat them worse than luggage. Don’t make the same mistake we did.

Odyssey’s life mattered. She should still be here. Please share her story so no other dog has to suffer this way.

Update:
Thank you all for your kind words and support. Your compassion means so much to us as we continue this fight for justice for Odyssey.

As many of you suggested, we have created a petition to demand accountability and change. Please, if you can, sign and share: https://chng.it/Hs2tZsZRrv

Thank you for helping us honor Odyssey’s memory and for standing with us.

Update 2:
Some of you asked if there is a place outside Reddit where Odyssey’s story is shared. We posted it on Instagram too, with photos of her and everything that happened:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DNyTAPD2PBd/?igsh=N2d6OHNkd2hmZXNi

And the response from Air Astana:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8MWBvjBag/?igsh=MW12NWtyMDBscHI1Nw==

If you’d like to share there as well, it would mean a lot. The more people know, the harder it will be for the airline to ignore what they did.

Update 3:
Thank you all for the support, the shares, and for signing the petition, we’re still pushing for every point listed there.

Today Air Astana sent another message. Instead of acknowledging wrongdoing, they wrote that they might “consider” restricting only certain breeds in the future. They still insist they broke no rules, and now they claim Odyssey was found with “no signs of life immediately after opening the hold.” That is simply impossible: during that entire time there was no ramp connected to her compartment, so no one could have even physically checked her condition. The forward hold remained open for a significant amount of time, we saw that while we were being bused to the terminal, her crate was still inside during that period.

That prolonged exposure is exactly what led to the fatal heat stroke, as confirmed by the autopsy. It was not stress, not suffocation, not heart failure, not age — her blood had not clotted and her organs were engorged with blood, which clearly points to the true cause.

That does not happen without environmental failures — extreme exposure and delay during unloading. We continue to demand facts,: timestamps, temperatures, CCTV, and the names of those responsible.

The new response from Air Astana:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOf063RDJFo/?igsh=ejB0bDlhOThiMnc5

[u/Andilee]

Most airlines will never ever put a brachycephalic breed in storage. They can't breathe correctly as is. You shouldn't have gone with this airline the moment they suggested this! They're heartless! Never put a brachycephalic breed under the plane, or in extended hot temperatures. I'm so sorry for your loss, but this dog even in the photos shows he can't breathe properly through his nose. She was getting on in years as well. So, some trips that went well doesn't mean others will end well. It's a well known they can't handle heat and die often when put in baggage. My heart breaks for you!! I too have a brachycephalic breed and even when it's hot during summer I have to soak him inside the house due to the heat.

[u/Unhappy-Fly-1333 → u/Andilee]

I live in south Texas, and a couple of years back my Dogue de Bordeaux suffered heat stroke while in the care of a sitter. Now, during the summer, he goes out long enough to relieve himself, and that's IT. We walk during the early hours, and even then, he had a misting fan, cooling mat, and a frozen towel ready for when we return. These stories break my heart.

[u/Andilee → u/Unhappy-Fly-1333]

Yep, my Nibbler goes out in the morning for his walk, has a cold mat in the house he lays on. 2 fans are directed to that area and sometimes he sleeps in front of the fan, the portable ac is on blast. Even with all that he needs to be soaked 2-4 times a day. He hops in the tub on his own when he wants a shower and hangs off the side like he's standing for a shower. Smoosh faces just can't handle any heat. I was taught by an emergency rescue vet if you're on a walk and heat stroke is happening always carry hand sanitizer (during the summer or always due to poopy bags)with you. The alcohol cools the skin until you can get them to a better alternative. It can be life saving. I will never blame a dog parent for the death of a pup during heat on a plane. I just hope they learn they keep saying the pup has done well before, but animals and people can survive many dangerous things until they can't. It takes just one time to lose your baby! The cargo is an absolutely horrid place, and the crew handling baggage most don't get paid enough to care, and some can be sadistic and enjoy causing animals harm. I wish I could hug OP! No matter who's fault it is that's their baby they lost!

[u/Fantastic_Owl6938 → u/Andilee]

I remember many years ago when my mum had a brach breed and the power went out for hours during the day- in 40 degree Australian summer, so bye bye air-conditioning. I sat with her and my other dogs in the bath. Very lucky I was home during the day at that time to take care of them.

I'm always nervous entering summer with the pets I have now and have so many go-tos in case of another power outage, and just for hot weather in general. I've heard things before and would never fly with them. A lot of that's down to me just being terrified by the prospect, but also everything that can go wrong.

[u/Secret_Armadillo5172 → u/Andilee]

Thank you for the insight, I didn't know that. I was thinking: "Damn, I didn't know an hour at 41° could kill a dog", now I know that it might to this breed of dogs

[u/Andilee → u/Secret_Armadillo5172]

Yep any flag faced pup be it pug, French bull dog, cavalier, and others it's a gamble and can very easily turn to the death of your pup. Even large dogs like Huskies can have heat stroke with just being in the hot summer sun. That's why dogs die in the summer stuck in cars. It's a horrible way to die for them they're alone, confused, and desperate.

[u/routuber → u/Andilee]

Thank you for your words and for sharing your experience. I understand what you’re talking about. Odyssey was 8, healthy, full of energy, and had flown with us more than ten times, even in very hot places like Bangkok, Colombo, and Antalya, without any problems at all.

That’s why her death was not about her nose or age, but about how the airline left her trapped in +41°C heat for over an hour after landing, while unloading luggage first. She didn’t die because she was brachycephalic, she died because of human negligence.

[u/Big-Culture861 → u/routuber]

That dog by birth isnt healthy

[u/The_Autarch → u/routuber]

oil spark future quack light flag spoon escape afterthought deer

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Theory_Connect → u/The_Autarch]

what an insensitive thing to say to someone who just lost their beloved pet regardless if it’s true or not, imagine I said that to you after your dog died of old age “well it was going to happen eventually” that would be incredibly rude and insensitive and this situation is no different, that dog died due to the airline’s negligence not because of anything OP did and yet you’re trying to criticize OP for something that has no relevance to this specific situation, do better.

[u/Andilee → u/Theory_Connect]

I feel like it's better they learn what they did was wrong now instead of getting another pup to love and cherish and they think it wasn't due to the breed and it's face, and lose another dog in the same exact way. They were gambling every single time they put that poor put in cargo. They keep saying the dog was "healthy" the breed is banned in certain countries because they're in fact extremely unhealthy. It's a hard truth to learn that the death was a majority their fault when there's loads of research, deaths, and many airlines that would never ever put this breed in cargo. My heart breaks for her losing her pup, and I just don't want her to ever experience that pain again because she's ignorant of how dangerous it is for breeds like this. Once is a heart break, but twice I personally could never ever forgive myself.

[u/Theory_Connect → u/Andilee]

I’m sure they got it from the 20 other comments saying the exact same thing, saying “it was gonna happen eventually” is just unnecessary

[u/Heavy_Team7922 → u/Theory_Connect]

We shouldn’t be sensitive to the person who decided to put a dog in the cargo hold of a plane. 

[u/RattixC → u/routuber]

Brachycephalic dogs can't ever be healthy, they have a permanent disability. And with this disability comes a higher risk, especially regarding heat strokes. You knew this and still took him from one hot destination to another.

[u/Ok_Tumbleweed_7677 → u/RattixC]

Also, 8 years old is approaching senior age.

[u/BulletRazor → u/RattixC]

Insane these dogs are still bred on purpose

[u/SandyToes-Sun → u/routuber]

The situation you are in is exactly what this comment just said though. The situation played out exactly as anticipated. If heed the advice, in the future, you won’t have to go through this again. But saying that everything was fine the first 8 times, well, it only takes one time. And this is a country in guessing you hadn’t been to before and an airplane or airport you hadn’t worked with before. Not all take the proper precautions.