Dog flying Delta Airlines reunites with owner after three weeks missing

A dog who was supposed to board a Delta Airlines flight goes missing for three weeks and reunites with their owner after being found hiding at the Atlanta airport.

Harrison-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is considered the busiest airport in the US. Just last year, the Georgia-based airport boarded at least 45.4 million passengers.

So when Paulina Rodriguez planned to travel with her dog Maia from the Dominican Republic to California, with a stop in Atlanta, she never could have imagined that her dog would go missing among all the chaos.

While Maia was lost, Rodriguez took to her Instagram to alert the public about her missing pup, saying, “She is not just my dog, she is my best friend on earth.”

Maia was found hiding near cargo facilities at Atlanta airport

Though Rodriguez was assured by Delta Airlines that Maia would be at the facility she was transported to while Rodriguez was traveling, Maia wasn’t there when Rodriguez showed up to unite with her. 

Rodriguez then stated on her Instagram, “Delta took her away from me even though I kindly asked them… She was my emotional support, she was in distress, broke her kennel, and ran into the airport highway.”

Delta Airlines then contacted Rodriguez days later to say that Maia had escaped her kennel on the airport ramp and ran away. 

Rodriguez then took to social media again to say, “I am truly desperate, and every minute counts… To clarify, I am not in Atlanta and I have no way right now to get there, but I have people who will go to the ATL airport in person very soon.”

Luckily for the hopeful dog owner, a miraculous discovery of Maia hiding in the north cargo facility at the ATL airport happened on September 9, three weeks after she had gone missing. 

After Rodriguez reunited with Maia, Atlanta airport took to Twitter to update the public, saying, “ATL’s Operations team found her hiding near the north cargo facilities.”

They continued, “Tired, but in apparent good health. She was transported to a vet and is expected to return home soon.”

Rodriguez hasn’t commented since reuniting with Maia, however, she did take to Instagram to share a photo of her and Maia at the beach right after she was found.