Tennessee family outraged after British Airways sends pet dog to SAUDI ARABIA instead of NASHVILLE
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: A Tennessee family is demanding answers after an airline accidentally transported their dog to Saudi Arabia instead of Nashville. According to a report, the family traveling from London to Tennessee noticed the terrible mistake when they arrived at Nashville International Airport and received the wrong dog.
“They said she wasn’t in Nashville, and they said their best guess was she was in Saudi Arabia,” Madison Miller spoke to WSMV about Bluebell, her cherished 5-year-old rescue pup. Airport staff emailed her a picture of Bluebell chained up in her box after almost an hour, proving that she was in the Middle Eastern kingdom.
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Miller told the publication that after hearing "horror stories," she was already worried about putting Bluebell on an hours-long flight. “I had months of nerves putting her on this plane,” Miller said. “I’d heard so many horror stories.”
Miller and her husband anxiously awaited the return of their dog for three days. After three flights and 63 hours, they managed to retrieve her, but they reported that she had transformed into a completely different dog. “I anticipated kind of like the reunion you see on YouTube,” Miller said. “Like she comes out of the crate, she’s wagging and licking your face. It was the opposite.” Instead, she bolted. “We had to go and grab her because she was so horrified and that’s when we knew something was wrong,” Miller said.
Bluebell's issues have persisted after relocating to her new house in Brentwood, according to Miller. She (Bluebell) sometimes cries while alone, going so far as to gnaw through a door. Miller is asking questions about how such a terrible blunder could occur. “They said this has never happened before, we don’t even understand how it could happen because there are so many safety checks in place,” Miller said.
IAG Cargo, the cargo company, was contacted by British Airways regarding a comment request, and they expressed regret "for the recent error that occurred during Bluebell's trip to Nashville." “We take the responsibility of caring for people’s loved animals seriously and are investigating how the redirection happened,” the company said in a statement to WSMV. “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.”
The company said that during the time the dog spent with them 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 center who cared for her." They added, "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.” The owners of Bluebell stated that they hoped to receive some sort of monetary settlement from them for the error.