Airline Approved Dog Carrier

Yesterday I heard a horror story about traveling with a dog. My friend had to fly with her dog from LA to Lima, Peru. So she purchases what she thought was an airline approved dog carrier, gets all the needed medical paperwork, airline approval etc… Well she and her daughter arrive at the airport with Vicky, her pure white Miniature American Husky, in the dog carrier with their tickets the paperwork for the dog and all. What she thought was going to be a nice simple flight with her little family of three, now became a living nightmare. As they are checking in their baggage and getting their boarding passes. The airline personnel ask to see the dog carrier. To make sure it complies with all the requirements of an airline approved dog carrier they told her. So onto the counter goes the dog carrier with all the paperwork and the airlines agents go over all the documents which are in order. But then when they measure the dog carrier it turns out to be an inch taller than regulation. They inform my friend that sorry but that Vicky and the carrier can not accompany her and her daughter onto the plane but instead the dog carrier will have to go below the plane in the cargo hold. Ok, so what can she do? She takes the flight and arrives safety in Lima, however in Lima things turn from bad to worse for her and Vicky. Because Vicky came in the cargo hold of the plane she is registered on arrival in Lima as entering the country as a package. For this reason she was kept in a warehouse for three days during which time my friend couldn't even see her. All this just because she didn't have an airline approved dog carrier.