Woman Says Dog Went Missing After Delta Airlines ‘Took Her Away’ in Atlanta, Internet Joins Her in Search

Paula Rodriguez from Dominican Republic is going through one of the most harrowing experiences a dog owner can imagine.

The woman is asking for help finding her dog Maia after Delta Airlines “took her away” at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a passport issue. Although Rodriguez thought she would be reunited with her dog the next day, Maia went missing.

As the distressed dog owner now recalls to mitú, “Delta [Airlines] took my dog in customs when I had a problem, and I had to sleep in a detention center.”

By the next day, Rodriguez says none of the agents knew where Maia was. At that point, she had to board a plane back to the Dominican Republic alone — knowing her dog was still lost in Atlanta.

“It seems like the dog escaped from her kennel, and she is lost in the Atlanta airport,” Rodriguez described to us.

Now, Rodriguez explains that Delta Airlines told her there is currently an “ongoing investigation.” Now she is taking matters into her own hands to find Maia. As she put it, her dog is her “best friend on Earth.”

The woman says a Delta agent “promised” that she would see Maia on her next flight

Rodriguez explained her distressing story in a video circulating social media.

In it, she recalls, “A Delta agent took [Maia] away on August 18 at the Atlanta airport while I was detained because of a problem with my passport.”

“[The agent] promised that Maia would be taken care of. That he would have people taking care of her the whole night and that I would see her the next day on my next flight,” she explained. “I asked him to please [not take her], because she was very nervous, she was stressed, and she is my emotional support dog.”

“However, they took her.”

The woman later recalled on her Instagram Stories, “I am not in Atlanta, I am in Punta Cana right now. I had a problem, I had an issue with my tourist visa, and I was not allowed to enter the United States.”

As Rodriguez detailed, the Delta agent said she would see Maia “on [her] next flight back home, which was the next day at 10 AM.” The night before her flight, she explains she “had to sleep in a detention center in the airport by law.”

That being said, once Rodriguez prepared to take her morning flight, she says Maia was nowhere to be found.

“When I was boarding my next plane, no one knew the whereabouts of Maia,” Rodriguez explained on her IG Stories. “They didn’t know about her existence whatsoever.”

“I had to board the plane, and since Saturday morning at 10 AM, I haven’t seen Maia. Since that day, I know nothing of her,” she said in her video. “I had to board the plane against my will, and Delta did not have answers for me in more than 48 hours.”

By Monday, she said Delta Airlines told her Maia had opened her kennel and escaped.

Rodriguez is asking for help after her dog has been missing for over 72 hours

Rodriguez says she suffered “three panic attacks” on the plane to Punta Cana. Once she arrived, she “did everything [she] could” to locate Maia.

“I did the lost and found, I placed every claim possible,” she said. “I have been calling Atlanta’s airport and Delta nonstop, and they have no answers for me. They’re just hanging up the phone, they’re just [transferring] me to another department.”

The woman also says people have gone to the Atlanta airport to help her locate Maia. However, they haven’t received answers, either. “There are people trying to help me, going to the airport, and Delta won’t give them any kind of information.”

“Please. I need help to find Maia because she has been missing for more than 72 hours,” she said. “She is alone, and hungry, and thirsty.”

“I am losing my mind,” Rodriguez added. “I need f**king answers.”

Over on Rodriguez’s Instagram post about the incident, she wrote, “She is not my dog. She is my best friend on Earth.”

“Delta took her away from me even though I kindly asked them she was my emotional support and she was in distress.”

“[Maia] broke her kennel and ran into the airport highway,” the woman explained. “She has been lost for 72 hours now. She is extremely sensible to noise and she must be scared to death.”

As people continue to spread the word about Maia, Delta Airlines issued a response

Now, people are spreading the word on social media about Maia, all in the hopes of getting her home. While many are using the #WhereIsMaia hashtag, others have taken to X to voice their thoughts.

One X user wrote, “No one who loves their pet should travel with Delta until Maia’s whereabouts are accounted for.”

Another questioned Maia’s whereabouts, while yet another X user wrote Rodriguez’s situation is “the worst nightmare that can happen to someone traveling with a dog.”

Many more continue to question Maia’s whereabouts, especially if Rodriguez promised she “would be safe”:

Meanwhile, Delta Airlines issued a statement to mitú about the incident.

“Delta teams have been working to locate and reunite this pet with the customer and we remain in touch with the customer to provide updates,” Drake Casteneda, a communications representative for Delta, explained.

“Delta people feel deeply concerned for the customer and the dog and we’re committed to ongoing search efforts, working closely with the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation and other stakeholders.”

The Atlanta airport’s senior director of communications, Andrew Gobeil, also stated, “At this time [ATL’s operation teams] have not encountered the dog, but will continue to remain vigilant should she appear.”

“If she is seen, ATL’s staff will attempt to capture her and return her to the airline and her owner.”