Heartwarming moment as a Dominican Republic woman is reunited with her six-year-old dog who was missing for three weeks after being lost by Delta Airlines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – the busiest airport in the world
- Maia, a six-year-old Chihuahua from the Dominican Republic, was reunited with her owner Paula Rodríguez in Santo Domingo on Monday
- The family pet was lost by Delta Airlines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in August
- The dog was found in a cargo hold on Saturday morning and was taken to a local vet, who found her in good health
A Dominican Republic woman has been reunited with Chihuahua three weeks after Delta Airlines lost her at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Footage from the reunion showed Paula Rodriguez running to meet Maia at Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo on Monday.
“Maia arrived with painkillers for the flight, but the moment she got home she immediately started walking,” Rodríguez shared on Instagram Story, hugging her six-year-old adopted pet.
“And she’s in an INCREDIBLE mood,” she exclaimed.
Paula Rodríguez hugs Maia, her six-year-old Chihuahua, with whom she was reunited Monday in the Dominican Republic, three weeks after Delta Airlines staff lost the pet while transporting her to a terminal gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Paul Rodríguez’s sister, Daniela Rodríguez, holds Maia on Tuesday, a day after the family was reunited with the six-year-old rescue animal
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said on social media that Maia was spotted hiding in the “North Cargo facilities” on Saturday.
A volunteer who had helped in the search saw Maia, got down on her hands and knees and pulled her to safety.
The six-year-old rescue animal was taken to a local vet for a check-up and was found to be in good health before flying back with Rodríguez’s mother.
Rodriguez’s fate began on August 18 when she and her six-year-old adopted pet boarded a flight from Santo Domingo to San Francisco for a vacation.
Upon arriving in Atlanta for a connecting flight, U.S. Customs and Border Protection informed her that the tourist visa did not comply with guidelines and she was denied entry into the U.S.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said on social media that Maia was found Saturday at the ‘North Cargo facilities’ and took her to a veterinarian for a regular examination before reuniting her with her family from the Dominican Republic
Paula Rodríguez (right) and her mother share a special moment with Maia at their home in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Paul Rodríguez posed for a photo with Maia on Tuesday, a day after the Chihuahua flew from Atlanta to the Dominican Republic
Maia, a six-year-old Chihuahua from the Dominican Republic, was found safe Saturday in a cargo facility next to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Border officials told her she had to remain in a detention center until her next flight and that the law did not allow her to be at the world’s busiest airport with her dog.
Rodríguez was told not to worry because Maia would be placed in a Delta Airlines facility trained in handling pets, according to CNN.
She was taken back to the airport the next morning expecting to fly with Maia on a 10:20 a.m. flight to Santo Domingo, when while waiting at the departure gate she learned her dog was missing.
Delta Airlines moved Rodríguez to another flight, albeit to Punta Cana, almost a four-hour drive from the Dominican capital, while waiting for Maia’s arrival, thinking it was just a minor mistake by the airline’s staff.
However, there were still no signs of Maia when the gate for the flight to Punta Cana closed and she was instructed by border agents that she could not be in the country for more than 24 hours without a valid visa.
Rodríguez flew back without Maia and was contacted by Delta Airlines two days later that the dog had escaped the kennel and gone to the runway.
She initially offered a $1,000 reward, which was later increased to $7,000.
DailyMail.com contacted Delta Airlines for comment.