While she spent the night time at an airport detention facility, Maia was supposed to remain at a Delta pet facility, an airline agent advised her. And they’d be reunited earlier than the primary flight again home the subsequent day.
That was the final time she noticed Maia.
Two days after returning home with out her canine, a Delta agent stated Maia broke her service in the midst of an lively runway on her approach to the pet facility the night time of Aug. 18, in line with Rodriguez. Airline employees ran after her, however Maia escaped right into a restricted airport space, Rodriguez stated.
“This happened on Friday and I found out on Monday,” Rodriguez, 25, stated. “They knew that my dog was lost when I boarded that plane and they didn’t tell me.”
More than every week later, airline personnel and native officers are nonetheless on the lookout for Maia on the world’s busiest airport. Delta flew Rodriguez’s mom to Atlanta to assist seek for the lacking pet, bringing a few of Rodriguez’s garments to plant a well-known scent and recordings of Rodriguez calling for the animal, Rodriguez advised The Washington Post in Spanish.
“Delta teams have been working around-the-clock to locate and reunite this pet with the customer and we remain in touch with the customer to provide updates,” Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant stated in an e mail. “Delta people feel deeply concerned for the customer and the dog and we’re committed to ongoing search efforts, working closely with the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation and other stakeholders.”
Airport officers are conscious Maia is lacking and “will continue to remain vigilant should she appear” whereas its operations groups conduct runway and airfield inspections all through the day, stated Andrew C. Gobeil, an airport spokesman.
“If she is seen, ATL’s staff will attempt to capture her and return her to the airline and her owner,” Gobeil stated in an e mail.
Maia got here into Rodriguez’s life in 2017. She discovered Maia inside a field on the streets of the Dominican Republic earlier than Hurricane Maria made its manner by way of the island. The plan was to provide her shelter till the storm handed and take her to an animal rescue later, however Maia gained Rodriguez’s coronary heart. Since then, the 2 have been inseparable — Rodriguez has by no means had to make use of a leash together with her, she stated. They share a love for exploring and nature, mountain climbing and even browsing, if the waves are usually not too excessive, Rodriguez stated.
Rodriguez and Maia boarded a Delta aircraft from Santo Domingo to Atlanta, a layover earlier than California, their remaining vacation spot, on Aug. 18. Rodriguez wished Maia — who had by no means flown earlier than — to accompany her on the journey to California to go to associates. She paid Delta for Maia, her emotional assist canine, to fly together with her inside a tender service beneath the seat in entrance of her, Rodriguez stated.
Upon touchdown in Atlanta, Rodriguez stated customs officers advised her she had obtained the mistaken kind of visa. Maia needed to stay separate from Rodriquez whereas she remained within the detention facility, however a Delta agent assured her that Maia could be protected on the pet facility, Rodriguez stated. There, she’d be given water and meals earlier than the flight home the next day.
On the morning of Aug. 19, Rodriguez grew involved when Delta brokers on the gate couldn’t discover Maia regardless of a number of calls. She missed the primary flight out and agreed to take the subsequent flight if that meant yet another hour for Delta to search out Maia, Rodriguez stated.
“Don’t worry,” a Delta agent on the gate advised her, Rodriguez recalled. “They are looking for your dog in various departments. I’m sure they’ll find her soon.”
When she arrived within the Dominican Republic with out information about Maia, Rodriguez referred to as the airline to file a lacking pet declare. For two days, Rodriguez stated, she struggled to get updates over the cellphone with airline representatives. Since then, she has employed a specialist rescuing pets and has urged the airline to make use of meals traps and Okay-9 dogs within the search.
“I am not going to rest until I find her,” Rodriguez stated. “They can do better. They were capable of hiding the fact that my dog had been lost for over 48 hours and how she had gotten lost. That’s simply inhumane.”
