Student claims Spirit Airlines told her to flush her pet hamster so she could board

A Spirit Airlines airplane sits on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. A Pennsylvania college student was trying to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Baltimore/Washington International when she was barred from boarding her Spirit plane because she was carrying on a pet hamster. less A Spirit Airlines airplane sits on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. A Pennsylvania college student was trying to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Baltimore/Washington International when ... more Photo: The Associated Press Photo: The Associated Press Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Student claims Spirit Airlines told her to flush her pet hamster so she could board 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

A college student traveling with a pet dwarf hamster says a Spirit Airlines employee refused to let her board her plane and suggested she flush the furry little rodent down the toilet.

Belen Aldecosea, formerly in college in Pennsylvania and currently at Texas State, told the Miami Herald she called the airlines twice to make sure it was all right for her to take the hamster, named Pebbles, on the Nov. 21, 2017, flight and was told that it was.

But just the opposite happened at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Spirit would not let her board the flight with Pebbles.

NEW: Spirit Airlines pushed me to flush my emotional-support hamster down an airport toilet, student says https://t.co/JErmxvTimY pic.twitter.com/cWvaJhy2tq — David Ovalle (@DavidOvalle305) February 8, 2018

This created a predicament for the Miami Beach native. Her friends at college were nearly two hours away, unable to help, and she needed to go home so that she could be treated for a medical problem.

Panicking, Aldecosea tried to rent a car but was unsuccessful. She booked a later flight while she tried to figure out what to do with Pebbles.

At this point, Aldecosea claims an airline representative suggested that she flush the tiny animal down the toilet. Spirit denies that any such recommendation for hamster disposal was ever made.

Eventually the student decided that that freeing the hamster outside where she'd likely freeze or get hit by a car was the less humane option.

So she flushed Pebbles.

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

According to the Herald, Aldecosea is considering a lawsuit against Spirit Airlines.

Spirit spokesman Derek Dombrowski told the Herald that a reservation representative made a mistake by telling Aldecosea that Pebbles would be allowed on the flight. But he said there was no truth to the "flushing" allegation.

"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.

The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration allows hamsters on flights, but airlines can bar the animals from boarding their planes if they so choose.