The curious case of that dog (Kokito) dying on an airplane

Yes, that was Kokito, the dog which died in the overhead bin (compartment) of an airplane recently.

Many people around the world are quite angry at the flight attendant for ordering a passenger to place the dog in the overhead bin. Yet, I think that the flight attendant was under a great deal of pressure and this was just an unfortunate accident.

Furthermore, the carrier could not have been left in the aisle and it was too large, apparently, to be placed under a seat. If the flight attendant was only providing the option of the overhead bin, perhaps the passenger should have just taken her dog and left the airplane. I am confused as to why the passenger did not simply ask that the dog be placed in the cargo hold (with the luggage and other dogs).

They are still talking about possibly arresting the flight attendant, which I think would be an over-reaction. Perhaps this airline needs a better training program to help their employees problem-solve difficult situations better.

In any case, there is some excellent vocabulary in this article.

The article:

https://nypost.com/2018/03/15/dogs-death-on-united-flight-could-lead-to-criminal-charges/

Vocabulary from the article: 

criminal charges - if the police want to arrest someone for murder, for example, they may say, "We are charging you with murder! You are under arrest!"  So to be charged with something means to be formally accused of something. A criminal charge is an accusation. The police are claiming that you did something wrong.

a probe - an investigation

to be launched - if something is launched, it is begun. e.g. We are going to launch a new website soon.

to stow something - to store something or to put something away.

animal cruelty - when a person unnecessarily harms an animal.

a task force - a group expected to solve or address a problem.

a prosecutor - a lawyer for the government who tries to find people who are accused of crimes to be guilty.

to be warranted - to be necessary, reasonable, justified

a backlash - when you experience a negative reaction to something you did

to contradict someone or something - to say something opposite of what another person said. A person can also contradict him/herself. "Yesterday you told me you would be busy next week and could not come over, but now you just mentioned you have the whole week free. You just contradicted yourself!"

to back up someone's account - to verify the story, to agree that the story is correct

to prompt s/o to do s/t - to cause someone to do something

inexcusable - wrong to the point where you can't make any legitimate excuses as to why it happened

cargo - stuff that is being carried in a plane or ship; so the politician is saying animals are not like products that are being transported from one destination to another.

a cargo hold - the place where cargo is stored while a plane is in flight

a bill - if a bill is passed by the Congress it becomes a law; to file a bill is to put a bill up for debate and a vote

alleged - supposed, apparent, possible

to be acclimated to - to be used to something, to have gotten used to something; so some animals just do not get used to their carriers or crates (boxes) and perhaps die of stress or heart attacks

to tout something - to boast about something, to speak proudly of something

to deem something to have occurred - to consider or determine that something occurred because of something else