A 10-month-old prize-winning show dog had gone missing at the airport after allegedly escaping from its kennel just before it was about to get loaded on the plane.
It was March 23 when a pure-bred American Staffordshire terrier named Gale went missing at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
According to the reports, the pup was from Amsterdam and was traveling in the States with her handler to participate in several dog shows and events.
After Gale went missing, panic arose and the airport workers went on a hunt for the dog fearing the worst that could happen to her.
Three days later, the American Staffordshire terrier was finally found and reunited with her owner, Floris Van Essen.
“A dog managed to break out of its cage as it was being loaded into the cargo of flight KL622 from Atlanta to Amsterdam on March 23,” the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines admitted in an interview with WSB-TV.
“The dog’s owner had been notified. KLM expresses its sincerest regrets and is actively working with the Atlanta Airport to search for the dog.”
According to the Floris, he and his wife “completely panicked” after the airlines called them and informed them about the incident.
“We were out of our minds,” he said. “You can imagine it’s horrific to hear that a dog is gone and nobody knows where she is.”
“We’re really missing a family member,” Van Essen added in an interview with ABC News. “We don’t have any children, the dogs are our children. Her brother lives here, her mother lives here and we really want her back home safe.”
Unfortunately, there was no sign of the pooch after a thorough search of the 4,600-acre land, as she most likely went into hiding due to fear.
Days later, however, the staff set up a bait trap and managed to secure Gale who was reunited with her owners.
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