An airline mistakenly sent a family's pet dog to Saudi Arabia instead of its owner's home. A five-year-old dog named Bluebell was travelling from Nashville to London with its human family when it was accidentally sent to Saudi Arabia by British Airways.
The family was moving from London to Tennessee, and when they reached the destination they were given the wrong dog. She said they took a British Airways flight and dropped Bluebell to the cargo hold at London's Heathrow Airport.
Talking about her 5-year-old rescue pooch, Madison Miller told WSMV, "They said she wasn't in Nashville, and they said their best guess was she was in Saudi Arabia."
After an hour, the airline staff sent her a photo of her dog locked in her crate. It confirmed that she was in the middle eastern kingdom, a New York Post report said.
The parents restlessly waited for three days for their dog to be returned to them. And when they finally got the dog back, it wasn't the same. According to Ms Miller, the dog had changed completely. "I anticipated kind of like the reunion you see on YouTube," Ms Miller said. "Like she comes out of the crate, she's wagging and licking your face. It was the opposite."
"We had to go and grab her because she was so horrified and that's when we knew something was wrong," Miller said.
The dog had signs of stress and nervousness ever since this misadventure occurred. British Airways forwarded a request for comment to a cargo company, IAG Cargo, who said in a statement, "Whilst Bluebell's route was longer than it should have been, we ensured she was on the first flight back to Nashville from London Heathrow airport."
They added: "During her time with us she received refreshments frequently and had time outside to stretch her legs - including regular walks and eight hours with the team at the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre who cared for her. Despite these measures, we understand that this has been an upsetting situation for Bluebell and her owners and remain in contact with them to resolve the situation."
