FlyingUnderTheRadar

Interesting story:

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/d...lta/index.html

Mistakes were made by the pet owner. Not sure why a Delta employee opened the kennel door but they did.

While not in the story the dog may not have been allowed into the country as the Dominican Republic is a high-risk country for dog rabies.

Edit: WaPo version (paywall): https://www.washingtonpost.com/trave...lanta-airport/

However, the WaPo story notes: So it is unclear to as to how the pup escaped.

erik123

Sure DL - The dog ate your homework.

lindros2

That's why our dogs have AirTags in their collars.
But... NWA nearly froze my colleague's dogs to death about 20 years ago in EWR... So airlines haven't been good about this in years.

Now the visa issue is on her; and the dog/rabies thing is a huge problem.

FlyingDL4Fun

Before I say this, please don’t blow this off topic, just an observation…

Citizens from various destination struggle and jump through a lot of hoops to get a US Visa. But recently there has been a lot of valid Visa arrivals being turned away for not meeting requirements etc, which is well within CBPs discretion.

I guess I’m wondering if more can be done in advance to verify and authenticate travelers at time of visa issuance instead of them thinking they can travel to the US just to be turned away?

DataPlumber

PSA, for the sake of your pet and the rest of the public leave fluffy at home.

SDQBound

I'm a bit familiar with the story, it doesn't seem that her intention was to overstay or violate any immigration laws, but the admission to the US is ultimately at the mercy of the agents on duty. Even with an official visa that is not subject to regular inspection on arrival, I've had my share of agents at ATL from whom I have not received a courteous treatment.

I doubt there's much more that can be done. I'm originally from the same country as the traveler, you'll be surprise to know how many people are refused a visa, and how many young adults who had valid visas during their childhood can't get them renewed when they graduate from college and don't have a highly paid job, even if they have traveled to the US all their lives.

Since many years, the US government has intended to set up a pre-clearance facility in the DR, this will definitely help, however, the DR congress has not moved this forward.

lindros2

even as a US Citizen with Global Entry, I can echo the same at ATL immigration.

we were threatened with nearly cancelling passports and blocking Global Entry because the rules changed on minors. That is, we used the lanes - when it wasn’t busy - and the agent was in a foul mood. Prior years there was no problem.

back to the main sub-topic - Europe’s new ETIAS is meant to be visa pre clearance before arrival (like Australia, maybe Brazil, maybe China), but they are clear that people can still be rejected at the border - nothing guaranteed.

AlwaysFlyStar

I mean, it is just like ESTA in the US. Because not everybody from a country that doesn't require a visa is actually eligible, and these systems just filter those people before they fly. Of course people can always still be denied at the border for certain reasons, but that is not very common.

david55

I would read the CNN story and it is tragic. My wild guess here... is the dog died somewhere along the storyline and no one has the heart to tell her.

lindros2

well now it's hit the local Atlanta press. So if the dog has perished, this will be a doozie.
Then again AJC/Cox Media copies/plagiarizes everyone else 2-3 days late, so I'm not surprised.

ostatekitty

Insane.I would never allow my dog into the cargo hold of a plane. If forced to move overseas and I couldn’t fly her private I guess I’d rehome her. Anytime I board a flight where I know there is a pup in the hold it causes me huge anxiety. Airlines could take way more care with these things, but they don’t.

estedman

This just breaks my heart. I truly hope the dog is found.

DLASflyer

It doesn't sound like the dog was ever in a cargo hold or checked. Pet in cabin that became Delta's responsibility when the passenger was detained by CBP.

pampa

No excuse, but maybe because she brought her dog, they might have thought she'd try to immigrate. I wonder how common it is to go on a two-week international vacation that requires flying with a dog. Just the paperwork for that must be insane.

I hope the she is reunited with her dog. The whole thing sucks.

Yellowjj

Unless the dog was a service animal; why would she bring her dog with her to another country just for a two week vacation? I'm pretty sure that was the first red flag for CBP and they didn't like the answers to subsequent questions they undoubtedly asked.