The death of Simon, the 10-month-old, three-foot-long bunny who was on track to become the world’s largest rabbit, continues to mystify. Yesterday, it was announced the Simon did not survive his United flight from England, as his owner Annette Edwards was sending him to Chicago to a new home with an unnamed but “very famous” owner. Today, it has ben revealed in The Guardian, The Sun, and elsewhere that Simon did in fact survive the flight, and then was taken to an pet facility run by the airline, according to United spokesman Charles Hobart. “But shortly after,” says The New York Post, “the rabbit was found dead when an employee opened its cage.”
As United squelches one fire today, a new one arises: What happened to Simon in that room? As luck would have it, United CEO Oscar Munoz had an interview today with NBC’s Lester Holt, where, true to his foot-in-the-mouth PR style, he unwisely compared losing a pet to losing luggage: “We are deeply sorry for the loss of anything from your luggage to, of course, a loved pet.”