Outraged Owners Question Delta’s Pedigree After Show Dogs Go Missing

Passengers returning home from the prestigious Westminster Dog Show want Delta management sent to obedience school after the airline lost their beloved show dogs.

Miss P, the beagle who won the title of “Best in Show” at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Tuesday, had her run of Manhattan this week. Miss P’s competitors, unfortunately, didn’t receive the same royal treatment. Instead, they flew Delta Air Lines.

According to a report from Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO, owners returning from the nation’s best-known dog show on Wednesday were outraged to find that the airline treated their beloved canines less like dogs and more like inanimate luggage — luggage which Delta then lost like a commonplace overnight bag.

When the dog owners flying home from New York did not see their pets being loaded on their Delta flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), they began tracking their precious cargo using the FlyDelta app. Airline officials initially insisted that the dogs had already been loaded on the plane, but then, the same officials admitted they did not know where the prize-winning pooches were located.

The flight was delayed for about an hour while Delta officials attempted to locate the missing dogs. Owners were given a choice of flying home without their dogs or waiting for a flight the next day. Jenny Dawson, an owner who chose to stay in New York, told KOMO that Delta eventually presented her with an empty crate and informed her that her dog was already onboard the flight en route to Seattle.

“I was livid,” sad Dawson. “It was like, really, can you not look in there and see there is no dog?”

Dawson’s reaction is understandable considering that, beyond the obvious emotional attachment felt for her beloved companion, show dog owners can spend as much as $100,000 per year to keep their pups in top competitive form.

After four hours, Delta finally delivered the dogs to the terminal. Airline spokesman Mike Thomas told KOMO: “The dogs remained in Delta’s constant care while the airline worked to re-accommodate both the customers and their animals.”

According to Thomas, the affected two-legged and four-legged passengers were offered overnight accommodations near JFK and the show dogs were allowed to sit in the passenger cabin on their flight home the following day.

[Photo: KOMO]