British Airway’s logistical nightmare left a five-year-old Labrador retriever traumatized, and who can blame Bluebell for her terrible anxiety now? British Airways accidentally flew the friendly dog to Saudi Arabia instead of the planned flight destination to Nashville, Tennessee. Traumatized Bluebell spent more than 60 hours in the cargo section.
The family had carefully planned for Bluebell’s trip to the United States and paid a lot of money to ensure the trip to Nashville went smoothly.
According to NPR, the dog’s owners Madison and James Miller had placed Bluebell on the flight to Nashville on December 1, at London Heathrow Airport bound for Nashville, but somehow the dog was loaded onto the wrong plane by IAG Cargo and flown 7,000 miles away from where she had been heading.
When her family realized their dog had not arrived in Nashville, hours and hours went by until they were finally able to track her whereabouts in Riyadh. She was then reloaded onto another flight and after spending days two-and-a-half days in the cargo hold, arrived in Nashville.
Since arriving home, Bluebell’s anxiety has continued to escalate and her owners blame the trauma she is undergoing on the excessive time she had to spend on the plane. The first time they left their dog in their new home, she chewed through her kennel in less than 10 minutes. The next time, Bluebell chewed through a wooden door, and the family is concerned their dog could harm herself.
The family is now working with veterinarians and animal behaviorists to help Bluebell. She is currently taking anxiety medication, and her prognosis is unknown.
The airlines have since apologized including IAG Cargo.
They requested $9,810 from British Airways, listing expenses ranging from behavioral therapy and three-times-a-day doses of anxiety medication to the cost of replacing a crate, a door, and other items Bluebell has destroyed in their new home — damages the Millers claim are the result of separation anxiety caused by the long journey.
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