Hello!
This was the same pet story from TikTok that was parroted all over the internet from last fall.
I frequently fly aboard the LUV airline as an A-List member and came across this story. I looked at it from a fact-based standpoint. Back then, this was my response:
According to the few outlets in the mainstream press who took the time to fact check and made an effort to try to find out what happened beforehand, Southwest's decision to remove the passenger was made after the woman repeatedly refused to comply with the flight crew's instructions regarding the proper handling of her pet according to an official statement. I do know for a fact that refusing to obey the instructions of any crew member is grounds for refusal to transport. I think this fact alone makes all those headlines (e.g. "Woman Removed From Flight For Petting Dog") inaccurate and possibly unfair or defaming to the airline. The headline could in fact very well be "Woman Removed from Southwest Flight for Refusal to Cooperate with Crew Instructions to Comply with FAA Pet Regulations."
I went on and posted that it would be totally foolish of me to stop flying Southwest based on this video or to take any sides on this story. To this date, I still don't know what led up to the incident. But I've had my share of crew instructions and actions that I didn't like such as the crew needing to keep the cabin lights turned on during a recent night flight but if those requests or actions are in fact lawful and righteous, I obey without complaint.
To those who follow my posts regularly well know that I enjoy photo-blogging my trips and take a window seat...but I'm not above the rules of the crew. I prefer if they turned the main lights off as they usually do so I can capture night photos of the scenery without a glare, but if they need to keep the lights on for the duration of the flight for whatever reason especially safety, I obey without question. FAA rules regulate that passengers need to obey the rules enforced by the flight crew. If I start creating a scene about this and refuse to comply with the crew's decision about the cabin lights, I too may get the boot.
I would be very careful about making travel decisions based on one person's point of view published to social media regarding a pet incident, even if that point of view gets a viral worldwide reaction.