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Corgi Ends Up In Hawaii After Being Put On A Wrong Flight — Isn’t Concerned As Airline Scrambles Around Her

By Alap Naik Desai
Published on: 03:02 PST, Dec 2, 2015

A corgi pup ended up in Hawaii after being put on the wrong flight. American Airlines’ staff has been working hard to reunite the dog, named Bethany, with her owner.

Travel mishaps are nothing new, but when they happen to animals, the scenario is completely different. A corgi pup had the misfortune of being put on a wrong connecting flight, but fortunately, she landed in a tropical paradise. Owing to American Airlines’ goof-up, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, named Bethany, landed in Honolulu, Hawaii, instead of Jackson, Mississippi.

The corgi was heading from Seattle to her new home in Jackson. However, during a layover in Dallas, Texas, the dog was placed on the wrong flight, which was heading to Hawaii. American Airlines’ staff never realized their mistake, and the corgi pup flew all the way to the tropical paradise, while her concerned owner lay waiting at Jackson for her arrival.

The corgi pup’s owner, Paul Chen, reported her missing on Saturday, November 28. Chen is a champion breeder and has many thoroughbred dogs, all corgis. He owns and runs Afara Pembroke and Cardigan Welsh Corgis in Vashon, Washington. He said his pup did not arrive at the destination. Though American Airlines staff goofed-up, their technical team was able to track the pup and realized she had already landed in Honolulu. A short investigation also revealed that Corgi ended up on the wrong flight at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, reported Hawaii News Now.

The extremely worried owner’s first reaction was Bethany might have been stolen. Fearing the worst, Chen offered a $1,000 reward for the safe return of his corgi pup.

Chen not just blamed the airlines, but clearly expressed his doubt about one of the airlines’ employees stealing his beloved corgi pup. As expected, American Airlines was quite cryptic about the mix-up and merely assured that dog would be returned in a “in the next couple of days,” reported the Huffington Post. While the dog was being traced and prepped for his journey to Jackson, American Airlines officials released a statement that read as follows.

“We are currently working with the owner to reunite him with his puppy as soon as possible. We take the well-being of our four-legged passengers very seriously and we apologize for this mistake.”

American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said, “We apologize to Bethany and her owner for the extra flight to Honolulu, and look forward to introducing her to her new owner very soon.” He added that the airline staff was quite attentive to the corgi and routinely checked up on her. The airline was also in touch with the dog’s owner, he said.

https://www.facebook.com/NBCDFW/photos/a.123983212689.103527.91686597689/10153422463542690/?type=3

Owing to the corgi’s cool temperament, the dog wasn’t overly concerned about the unexpected trip to the islands. Realizing the mistake, American Airlines put Bethany on a flight for Dallas on Moday. Fortunately, the dog was put on the correct connecting flight and is now in Jackson with her breeder. During her time in Hawaii, she was under constant supervision and care of a veterinarian before embarking on the journey to Dallas and then onwards to Jackson, confirmed Airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely, who jokingly added the following.

“She took a little bit of a vacation to Honolulu. She has been well taken care of the entire time.”

While people may regularly miss their connecting flights, they usually do not end up on the wrong flight due to multi-tiered verification systems. Animals, on the other hand, are a little tricky. While they are living-and-breathing creatures, they are treated as “live cargo,” unless the owner has sprung for an actual seat for his or her pet.

American Airlines assured they are looking at their procedures to figure out how the corgi ended up on the erring flight.

[Photo by Holly Hildreth/Getty Images]

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