Traveler Accuses Delta Airlines of Losing Beloved Rescue Dog While She Was Detained

A Delta Airlines flier said she was separated from her beloved rescue dog after she was denied entry to the U.S. in Atlanta — then told that her furry friend had been lost altogether.

Paula Rodriguez and rescue dog Maia were flying from the Dominican Republic to San Francisco on August 18 when Rodriguez was stopped at customs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, she told Georgia outlet WANF.

“They told me very kindly, ‘We’re so sorry but you don’t meet the requirements to enter the U.S., you’ve been denied entry, and you need to be sent back home to Santo Domingo,’” Rodriguez told the outlet. “They told me, ‘You’re going to have to sleep in a detention center and your dog can’t come with you.’”

But the next morning, as Rodriguez was preparing to fly back to the Dominican Republic, Maia was nowhere to be found.

“I was like, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t get on this plane, I don’t know where my dog is,’” Rodriguez told WANF. Told she couldn’t stay in the airport for more than 24 hours, Rodriguez said she ultimately boarded the plane, but cried and had panic attacks throughout the flight.

Upon landing back in the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez started seeking answers, but they did not come quickly.

“I started making calls, I started making claims, nobody knew where she was,” Rodriguez said of Maia.

She said she heard back from Delta on Monday.

“He tells me, ‘Your dog, she broke out her kennel, and she has been missing since Saturday,’” Rodriguez said. “After that, Delta hasn’t called me once or emailed me about the whereabouts of my dog.”

A Delta spokesperson told WANF that the search for Maia continues, and disputed Rodriguez’s claim that the airline hadn’t been communicative.

“​​Delta teams have been working to locate and reunite this pet with the customer and we remain in touch with the customer to provide updates,” the spokesperson said. “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.”

A spokesperson for the airport told the outlet that workers remain on the lookout for Maia during daily runway and airfield inspections.

But in the meantime, Rodriguez remains concerned for the companion she rescued from the streets as a month-old puppy.

“Without food, without water, she must be scared,” said Rodriguez.