Fair enough. And I guess dogs may be better car animals than cats (assuming, never had a cat).
I spent 4 not-fun days in a car with a yowling cat (RIP), but I probably would have been sick with worry if I'd sent him as cargo.
It seems to me that the problem here is that DL Cargo and regular DL are completely separate operations and there was just no way for the desk staff to deal with the problem of the OP. I don't think I would blame them for not knowing what to do. DL Cargo, on the other hand, really dropped the ball.