Support Hamster gets deep sixed on Spirit

Sink or swim Pebbles

Aldecosea said she skipped her flight and tried to rent a car instead, but said she was too young to rent one. So she did what she felt was the most humane choice.

“She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet,” Aldecosea said. “I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.”


The student said she considered letting Pebbles run free outside but could not bear thinking of her hamster freezing to death or getting hit.

“I didn’t have any other options,” she said.

Spirit Airlines spokesman Derek Dombrowski told the Miami Herald that an employee “mistakenly” told Aldecosea that Pebbles was allowed on the flight but denied that an employee suggested she flush the rodent down the toilet.

“To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal,” Dombrowski said.