Airport staff who were taking a passenger on their Delta Airlines flight lost their dog at Atlanta Airport, the world’s busiest airport, on Friday August 18.
According to CNNthe passenger, named Paula Rodriguez, was about to go on a two-week vacation to California with her six-year-old dog, Maia.
Maia flew in the cabin with Rodriguez. And their flight included a stopover at Atlanta airport before arriving at their destination.
However, upon arrival in Atlanta, Border Force personnel informed Rodriguez that she “did not meet requirements” of his tourist visa, CNN reported.
Rodriguez’s tourist visa was canceled and staff told Rodriguez she will have to return to the Dominican Republic on the next flight.
And that’s where the problem began: Rodriguez had to spend the night in a detention center, but without his dog.
“They called a Delta agent, who took Maia from me. I started asking her about where she would be spending the night and told her that she had been in great distress during the flight. When we arrived (in Atlanta), she was vomiting in distress and had diarrhea. » Rodriguez recounted.
![A dachshund dog is sitting in a blue transport cage at the airport](https://www.dogingtonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Dachshund-dog-sits-in-blue-pet-carrier-in-the-airport-1024x683.jpg)
Rodriguez said staff reassured her that her dog would be well cared for at a facility with trained staff. She continued, “It was not my wish, but I understood. I couldn’t do anything and I trusted him.
The next day, Rodriguez’s return flight was scheduled for 10:20 a.m. Border personnel gave Rodriguez instructions that they would pick her up from the detention center one hour and 45 minutes before her flight.
Rodriguez asked that she needed more time to take care of her dog. But the staff reassured her, saying: “Let’s go to the door, she should be there.”
When Rodriguez arrived, her dog was nowhere to be found. She says, “A manager came and said they were looking for her, she should be at the facility but they didn’t have time to look and I would have to get on a plane.”
“I started freaking out and said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t understand when you tell me you don’t know where my dog is.'”
So, an hour later, Rodriguez hopped on the next flight, leaving for Punta Cana. The dog’s owner thought the incident was just a mix-up and that Maia would accompany him on his flight.
Unfortunately, Maia didn’t show up and Rodriguez had to leave the United States without her dog because she didn’t have a visa.
Upon landing in Punta Cana, Rodriguez said: “I called Delta, Atlanta airport and even San Francisco. I filed all possible complaints. I called every possible shelter and veterinary practice in Atlanta. I was in agony for two days with no response.
Two days after the incident, a Delta representative called Rodriguez and told him what had happened.
“He said she was carried (to the plane) on the runway, the staff opened her doghouse, she got out of the car and fled in the middle of the runway,” she told CNN.
She continued, “Planes were taking off and arriving. He said they chased her but she was running faster and faster and ran away. That’s all I know.”
Since Rodriguez cannot return to the United States without a visa, his mother flew to Atlanta in his place.
According to USA todaythe airline houses Rodriguez’s mother for free while the search for Maia continues.
Unfortunately, three weeks after the incident, Maia is still missing. Rodriguez said: “I am in agony. I have been living a nightmare since Friday, knowing that my baby is somewhere scared or might be hurt. All kinds of thoughts come to my mind and I can’t do anything. Every minute feels like a day.
According to USA Today, Delta has opened an internal investigation into how Maia was able to escape from her carrier.
Additionally, a Delta spokesperson told CNN: “Delta teams have been working to locate and reunite this animal with the customer and we remain in contact with the customer to provide updates.”