A dog on a Delta Airlines flight was found dead in its cage during a transfer stop in Detroit while on a flight from Arizona to New Jersey on Wednesday, the dog owners and airline said. Alejandro the Pomeranian was on a Delta Airlines flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Newark, New Jersey on Wednesday and was placed in a kennel hold in the cargo hold of the plane. Michael Dellegrazie, who owned Alejandro with his girlfriend, said on Good Morning America on Saturday that they followed the airline's rules of having Alejandro undergo a physical before the flight from Phoenix to Newark. The couple, who were moving from Phoenix to Newark, were shocked to find their dog dead and want to know what happened. "I want to know what happened," said Michael Dellegrazie, one of Alejandro's owners told Good Morning America. "The dog is not a pet. He's a member of our family." Dellegrazie's attorney, Evan Oshan, told Good Morning America that the plane had made a stop in Detroit and Alejandro was checked on. "There was a stop in Detroit at approximately 6 o'clock in the morning," Oshan told Good Morning America. "Alejandro was checked on. He was fine. Then approximately at 8 o'clock and 8:30 in the morning, the dog was again checked on. He was dead, and there was vomit in the cage, according to Delta." But, a spokesperson for Delta Airlines said Alejandro was pronounced dead after an airline employee had checked on the dog in between transfers Detroit to Newark, New Jersey. According to the spokesperson, the dog was not transferred onto the flight from Detroit to Newark. In a statement to Newsweek, Delta Airlines said they are working with Alejandro's family and are conducting a review of the situation. "We know pets are an important member of the family and we are focused on the well-being of all animals we transport. Delta is conducting a thorough review of the situation and have been working directly with Alejandro's family to support them however we can. As part of that review, we want to find out more about why this may have occurred to ensure it doesn't happen again and we have offered to have Alejandro evaluated by a veterinarian to learn more," the statement read. The Delta spokesperson also told Newsweek that the airline offered the couple several times to perform an independent necropsy on Alejandro, but was turned down. The news comes just a few months after passengers blamed a United Airlines flight attendant for the death of a 10-month-old puppy after asking the family it was required of them to put the dog in an overhead bin. Since the incident, lawmakers introduced "the WOOF Act," which would force the Federal Aviation Administration to give fines for dogs kept in overhead bins if passed. Correction: This story has been corrected to clarify that the dog was found dead in between transfers during the flight.<doc-sep>Photo: CBS New York Yet another dog has been found dead on an airplane, and the devastated family wants answers. Delta Air Lines said on Saturday it is investigating the death of Alejandro, an 8-year-old Pomeranian, who died after it traveled in one of its plane’s cargo holds during a cross-country flight, CBS reports. The dog was traveling from Phoenix to Newark via Detroit this week, when he was found dead inside his cage. “I want to know what happened,” said Michael Dellegrazie, who with his girlfriend was Alejandro’s owner. “The dog is not a pet. He’s a member of our family.” “There was a stop in Detroit at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning,” Dellegrazie’s attorney, Evan Oshan said in a statement to ABC. “Alejandro was checked on. He was fine. Then approximately at 8 o’clock and 8:30 in the morning, the dog was again checked on, he was dead, and there was vomit in the cage, according to Delta.” In a statement to ABC News, Delta said, “We know pets are an important member of the family and we are focused on the well-being of all animals we transport. Delta is conducting a thorough review of the situation and have been working directly with Alejandro’s family to support them however we can. As part of that review, we want to find out more about why this may have occurred to ensure it doesn’t happen again and we have offered to have Alejandro evaluated by a veterinarian to learn more.” Alejandro is the latest dog to be lost or killed on a cross-country flight. In March, a French bulldog died on a flight from Houston to New York after a United flight attendant told its owners to put the dog in an overhead bin. The dog, Kokito, suffocated. “This little guy fought hard for his life, filling our flight with his cries until he finally ran out of breath,” passenger June Lara wrote on Facebook after the incident. “United Airlines does not care about the safety of their furry travelers. This poor family paid $125 for their pet to be murdered in front of them.” Story continues And last Tuesday, a woman traveling from Oregon to Kansas with her family on a United Airlines flight was stunned when she went to collect her dog from the cargo facility and instead discovered a Great Dane waiting in its place. Their dog had become the unwitting victim of a mix-up with the other dog, which was scheduled to fly to Japan. The dog was flown back to her on a plane after landing in Japan. ‘They had no idea where the dog was,” Swindle said. According to the Department of Transportation, 506,994 animals were transported on U.S. airlines last year. Delta carried 57,479 animals in 2017, and said two of them died, CNBC reports. Yahoo Lifestyle has contacted Delta for comment and will update this story when we hear back. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:<doc-sep>A nightmare for one couple whose dog was found dead in his kennel on a Delta flight on a stop in Detroit. The family's attorney, Evan Oshan, says he's determined to get to the bottom of it so no other family has to go through this pain again. The dog, an 8-year-old pomeranian named Alejandro, was put on a flight from Phoenix to Newark, where the family is planning to move. According to Delta, on a stop in Detroit, a flight attendant checked on Alejandro at 6 a.m. When he was checked on just two hours later, he was dead. "To say they are distraught would be a gross understatement," Oshan said. "They are completely devastated." Oshan also represented the owners of Koketo, the French bulldog who was killed on a United Airlines flight back in March. They say a flight attendant made them put the dog in his kennel in the overhead bin until landing. "I think this stretches beyond just pets," he said. "I think this is the way that airlines, commercial airlines in general, treat people. They are treating people horribly." Delta released the following statement regarding the situation:<doc-sep>
A dog on a cross-country flight was found dead in its cage upon arriving at its destination airport on Wednesday, according to the pet's owners and the airline. “I want to know what happened," said Michael Dellegrazie who with his girlfriend owned the Pomeranian named Alejandro. "The dog is not a pet. He's a member of our family.” Alejandro was sent on a Delta Airlines flight from Phoenix to Newark, New Jersey, where the couple is moving. The dog traveled in a kennel in the cargo hold of the jet. “There was a stop in Detroit at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning," said Dellegrazie’s attorney, Evan Oshan. "Alejandro was checked on. He was fine. Then approximately at 8 o’clock and 8:30 in the morning, the dog was again checked on, he was dead, and there was vomit in the cage, according to Delta,” In a statement to ABC News, Delta said, “We know pets are an important member of the family and we are focused on the well-being of all animals we transport. Delta is conducting a thorough review of the situation and have been working directly with Alejandro’s family to support them however we can. As part of that review, we want to find out more about why this may have occurred to ensure it doesn’t happen again and we have offered to have Alejandro evaluated by a veterinarian to learn more.” In 2017, 506,994 animals were transported on U.S. airlines, and of those, 24 died, according to Department of Transportation figures. One recent case that got a lot of attention was in March when a dog died on a United Airlines flight after it was put in its carrier into an overhead bin. The pet's owners alleged that a flight attendant knew a dog was in the carrier when she told them to put it in the overhead bin. United said the attendant had not heard the passengers' telling her about the dog. After the incident, United said it was starting a new policy of issuing bright-colored tags to passengers traveling with pets.