Hartsfield Jackson Airport
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport has shared a photo of Maia, a dog who went missing at the airport three weeks ago and was found safe on Saturday.
CNN
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The missing dog was found safe and sound at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on Saturday, and the dog’s owner can finally rest after enduring nearly a month of heartache and anxiety, airport officials said.
Delta Airlines passenger Paula Rodriguez’s 6-year-old dog Maia got lost at the airport in August. considered the busiest in the world.
According to a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the airport operations team found Maia hiding near a cargo facility in the north. “Although tired, he is clearly in good health and has been taken to the vet and will be sent home soon.” Airport officials said.
On August 18, Rodriguez and Maia traveled from their home in the Dominican Republic to California for a two-week vacation.
But when Rodriguez arrived in Atlanta for a layover, border agents informed him that his tourist visa did not meet the necessary requirements. They canceled her visa and said she needed to fly home on her next flight. Rodriguez previously told CNN.
With his next flight to Punta Cana scheduled for the next day, Rodriguez faced the sad reality of being separated from his beloved dog companions and spending the night alone in jail.
“They called a Delta employee and took Maia away from me,” Rodriguez told CNN.
The next day, Rodriguez arrived at the plane’s gate early, looking forward to meeting Maia again. Unfortunately, Maia never arrived.
Unable to stay in the U.S. for more than 24 hours without a visa, Rodriguez had no choice but to board a flight to Punta Cana without Maia, an experience that triggered a panic attack on his way home, Rodriguez said. .
Paula Rodriguez
Paula Rodriguez poses with her dog Maia in a photo taken before she went missing.
“Anyone who knows me knows what she means to me,” Rodriguez said of her beloved pet. “I wouldn’t go anywhere without her. She’s so polite, she literally takes me to restaurants everywhere. She’s my partner in everything.”
Two days after Maia went missing, a Delta representative reached out to Rodriguez to share the sad news. “She was being transported (to the plane) on the runway and staff opened the kennel and she ran into the middle of the runway,” Rodriguez told CNN.
Weeks passed with no new information, despite Rodriguez’s persistent push for updates from Delta.
A Delta Air Lines spokesperson previously told CNN in a statement: Delta officials are deeply concerned about you and your dog, and will continue to work closely with the Atlanta Aviation Authority and other stakeholders on an ongoing search effort. ”
With his tourist visa canceled, Rodriguez sent his mother to Atlanta to join a search operation at the sprawling 4,000-acre Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Rodriguez previously told CNN that he shared the painful toll of Maia’s disappearance, describing his experience as “a nightmare.”
Maia’s worst fears faded Saturday when Atlanta airport officials announced she had been found three weeks after she went missing.
CNN has contacted Delta Air Lines about the circumstances surrounding Maia’s escape.