Lost dog reunited with owner in Virginia after flown to Philly
PHILADELPHIA -- A Virginia woman says American Airlines lost her dog. She said she was flying from San Francisco to Raleigh, but her dog ended up in Philadelphia.
Amber Dalton and her dog, Beast, were supposed to arrive at Raleigh Durham Airport from San Francisco around 7 p.m. Wednesday night. But only one of them made it.
"Get to Raleigh and I go to look for my pet in the oversized baggage and there are no pets arriving," Dalton told WSET-TV.
Dalton said an hour later, American Airlines employees told her they didn't know where her dog was.
"How can you not know where you put the dog? It's a live animal," Dalton said.
Dalton said she thinks the confusion started when they were about to leave the San Francisco Airport at 7:30 a.m. They were supposed to fly to Chicago then Raleigh Durham.
"When I got to board, they pulled me out of line and said, 'you know this aircraft isn't capable of taking animals on it?'" Dalton said.
So she boarded a flight to Dallas instead, after she says the airline told her that her dog would be on there as well. But Beast was never put on that flight.
Hours after landing in Raleigh, Dalton said American Airlines finally figured out that he was in Philadelphia.
"They had the paperwork and they couldn't show me where anybody logged any of this stuff. And that's why they couldn't find him," Dalton said.
She said it wasn't until late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning that he made it to his original destination - Raleigh Durham.
An employee drove him to Roanoke; more than thirty hours later, Beast was where he was supposed to be.
Dalton was relieved to have him back, but still unnerved over the whole situation.
"This could have not turned out as nicely," Dalton said.
An American Airlines spokesperson said that the Dallas flight was also not suitable for pets, that's why Beast was put on a flight to Philadelphia instead. But Dalton said this was never communicated to her.
The spokesperson said they are reaching out to Dalton with more information and a personal apology.
