Let’s face it, most people aren’t exactly fans of the airline industry. On the other end of the love/hate coin are dogs, which most of us at least find adorable. So when an airline is accused of leaving a caged dog out on in the rain on an airport tarmac, you can imagine which side the Internet landed on.

It all began yesterday, when Twitter user @theregoesbabs posted the following photo from a Houston airport that has subsequently been shared more than 1,200 times:

United’s response to the Tweet only managed to engender more negative reactions as it looked like the airline was trying to pass the buck to its PetSafe program:

Of course, contacting PetSafe isn’t as easy as Tweeting at the airline, as the only real option is a contact form buried deep on the United website.

The anger and threats of a United boycott continued, even including Aussie pop star Sia. Meanwhile, the airline told the Daily Mail that people weren’t looking at the photo correctly and the caged canine was actually sheltered from the rain the entire time.

“We checked several cameras and confirmed that our ramp employees in Houston never left the pet unattended after our PetSafe employees dropped the kennel off when we were ready to begin loading the aircraft for departure,” reads a statement from the airline. “As is our standard practice, our employees placed the pet kennel completely under the wing to protect the pet from the falling rain and onto the aircraft after completing the baggage loading.”

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