A family's dogs died on an overseas military flight. With no response from the airline, all they want is answers.

• A family's dogs, Soju and Winter, died while on an eight-hour military flight to Seattle. 
• Anne Surette told Insider the company, Air Mobility Command, has not answered any questions.
• Since 2017, at least 18 dogs have died on the Air Force-run flights. Soju and Winter are just the latest. 

What should have been a fresh start in their new home has turned into one family's ongoing nightmare.

Having just landed in Seattle after flying from South Korea, Anne and Timothy Surette and their son were prepared for the next part of their international move: A cross-country drive to Virginia, where the family and their two dogs would soon be living.

But as they deplaned from the Patriot Express flight — a commercial airliner contracted by the Air Force-operated Air Mobility Command — and began gathering their luggage, Anne says they heard their name being called.

An employee told Timothy their dogs, 5-year-old Soju and 11-year-old Winter, did not survive the flight, Anne Surette told Insider. The dogs, a French bulldog and old English bulldog, had died on the flight.

While a necropsy has not been completed, the Surettes believe they died from heatstroke. 

"Nothing will ever be the same for our family after today," Anne wrote in a Facebook post. "Everything has been a nightmare that would not go away, and we must live with it even when we are awake."

Air Mobility Command did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

What went wrong

The Surettes were traveling on a Patriot Express flight, an airline contracted by Air Mobility Command. Utilized by military personnel and operated by the US Air Force, AMC is known to transport pets, and the family chose the flight because it was said to be a temperature-controlled.

At first, the trip was without major issues. In a conversation with Insider, Anne said that during a layover in Japan they were able to let Soju and Winter out to walk and feed them, but that things went awry after boarding the flight to Seattle. 

After boarding around 1 p.m., passengers were notified of a delay, Anne said. Midway through what turned out to be a three-hour delay, a flight attendant said they had checked on the dogs and given them water — but no one was allowed to leave the plane, including the dogs. 

By the time they arrived in Seattle after the roughly eight-hour flight, the two dogs had died. 

"There was not enough airflow for the flight," Anne said. "For us, in the cabin itself, it was hot. It was really hot."

When the couple found Soju and Winter after the flight, neither dog had their water bottles in their crates. Employees could not find the dogs' water, or explain what happened to the bowls, Anne said, adding that no one from AMC has reached out to answer the family's questions.

"I've been having issues sleeping because every time I close my eyes, I see them," Anne told Insider. "I see them in the crate where we saw them last."

"It's still unreal," she continued. "It's something that we don't want to accept."

It's not the first time a pet has died while on a Patriot Express flight

Last year, three dogs died on the Air Force-operated flight in the span of two weeks, The Military Times reported. At least one died of heatstroke, the outlet reported. Between 2017 and 2022, 16 animals died while under AMC's supervision, according to the Military Times. 

A pamphlet from AMC's website, last updated in July, warns passengers that all pets are susceptible to "the possibility of death during travel."

Another document on the site says that the most at-risk animals are brachycephalic — otherwise known as snub or pug nosed — breeds. While both French bulldogs and old English bulldogs are brachycephalic, Anne told Insider that neither Soju or Winter had preexisting health issues, and both had passed a health inspection required for them to travel. Winter had previously flown without issue.

Air Mobility Command wrote that approximately 89% of in-flight "pet fatalities" are related to these breeds.

Anne said that she asked employees at the airport for help finding somewhere to cremate her two dogs, but that no one was able to help.

While the Surettes don't plan to sue the company, Anne said they do want to see change in policies. Though the company has said they've changed their policies and procedures to reduce the number of pets that die while onboard, it's still happening. The family would like to see more concrete action moving forward. 

"You have dogs, you have babies on the plane," Anne said. "So what else could have been done? Those are things that they have to have in place."