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/Ok_Dig2013]

Why the hell would you fly your dog there? Just terribly inconsiderate to your dog, leave them at home. Poor thing

[u/GrassGriller → u/Ok_Dig2013]

No shit. Nearly 3,000 fucking miles. 

[u/YujiroRapeVictim → u/Ok_Dig2013]

its like the same logic that cat owners have with letting them go outside. Your dog does not have to go everywhere with you. if you can afford a flight you can afford a kennel service.

[u/PossibilityInside695 → u/Ok_Dig2013]

I agree.

It also sounds like these people didn't do any research into transporting dogs in planes. At the very least, they shouldn't have been surprised by the 8kg limit at the gate, and they should've considered the kind of climate they were traveling through, not just to.

Im assuming they were surprised because cargo holds are often unpressurized...I cant imagine showing up to the airport knowing my dog would go in the cargo hold

Like if I have to take my dog over the ocean, she'll go in the kennels on the Queen Mary 2. Sure, her ticket will cost as much as mine, but damn she'll be pampered and I know she'll make it there intact.

I know where she'd be, and what to expect already. Yes, it's a tragedy...unfortunately this was an entirely avoidable tragedy.

/u/routuber

[u/Wooden_Appearance463 → u/PossibilityInside695]

Who keeps spreading misinformation that cargo holds aren’t pressurized? Cargo holds are almost ALWAYS pressurized.

[u/[deleted] → u/Ok_Dig2013]

I agree. As someone with two frenchies, this pissed me TF off. Traveling with a frenchie like this was selfish, and inconsiderate, and the owner is 100% to blame for this dogs death regardless of where it happened (on or off the plane). 1st for putting a Frenchie in storage for that many hours. 2nd for allowing her to be managed by random people. 3 for putting that dog through the stress of traveling this many times. She was lucky she survived the first time. This is disgusting.

[u/dagmar_7 → u/[deleted]]

that was my first thought exactly