Delta lost a dog! - Page 1

 I haven't seen anyone else mentioning this, so I thought I would post it.

www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/05/12/airline.lost.dog/index.html

This is different because the owners were actually traveling on the same plane, not just shipping the dog.

I'm not sure whether the dog plus crate was lost like they lose luggage, or whether the dog escaped the crate somehow and was "lost".    Correction:  I see now they say the dog escaped from the crate.  I was just going on the info in the video earlier.

Somehow, offering $700 in travel vouchers doesn't seem like a suitable replacement for a dog.

(Delta spokesperson) Elliot said she couldn't recall another instance when a dog got lost while its owners were in transit.

"This is extremely rare," she said.

Guess Delta has a short memory. They're the same airline that lost the Westminster whippet Vivi at JFK 4 years ago.

 Not to disparage the loss of any dog, the dog was apparently lost in Mexico City. Sueincc has good advice about securing the crate and I do much more than that by placing metal bars so the door cannot be opened at all without taking those bars off.

None the less, here are the real statistics. I do not know how many pets/dogs travel by air each year, but it is certainly in the millions probably even in this country, let alone the world. In this country in 2008, the statistics on loss, death and injury are:

http://www.petflight.com/
Deaths - 30
Loss - 4
Injuries - 9

So the percentage is really miniscule. Of course, if it is your animal, it is a different story. But none the less, the record of the industry in this country in recent years is very good, in part based on stiff regulatory requirements.

Delta lost my dog several years ago at the Charlotte, NC airport.  They unloaded the dog and I could see the dog sitting on the cart in almost 100 degree weather.  I noticed the dog was trying to bite his way out and I told them to bring the crate in the warehouse because the dog is getting overheated.  They told me not to tell them how to do their job and if I did not shut up they would call the police.  I was sitting there watching my dog chew his way out of the crate.  Well, he got out and ran away.  Never to be found.  I was pissed and they had to remove me from the cargo area because I wanted to hurt these people.  Called Delta and they said "sorry but there is nothing we can do".  So I went to the news and it was on TV that night.  Delta called me and begged me to back off.  The did pay me for the dog but that did not cure my pain.

I'd say go ahead make the call, thats my dog.

 Bhall,

I hope you complained specifically about the time and the flight number involved etc. No dog is supposed to be unloaded from the plane and placed on the tarmac. They are to be put immediately onto a cart and driven into the cargo building. The animals are removed first and placed on board absolutely last. The people involved should have been fired. The regulations have been very strict for a number of years now. 

Also, I have a question for you. Most airports I know of, the major ones where dogs may be flown, are fenced entirely. Did anyone look for the dog on the airport grounds. At my major airport, and even the smaller airports they are all fenced. A dog getting loose would be contained unless it got into a building and then out a door. I know around here, that would be tough because all doors are secured.

In any case, like I said, it IS rare. But that does not help to say that given you lost your dog that way. I am sorry that happened to you. Was the dog just coming to you, or did you already own that dog and were shipping it for some reason?

I can't imagine the devastation the owner must be feeling. Bhall, what a horrible experience. I hope the people who turned you away lost their jobs.