Bay Area Couple Says Airline Lost Dog On Journey To SFO, Endured Hours Without Food Or Water
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) – American Airlines has apologized to a North Bay couple after they said the airline lost their dog on a journey to the Bay Area and had to endure more than 12 hours without food or water.
Two-year-old rescue Winston was hardly treated like precious cargo on American, according to his owners, Alexis and Matt Lakin.
"To know that he's not being fed, we don't know how much water he's been given, he's not been given a bathroom break. It's very upsetting," said Alexis Lakin.
The couple was told an employee mixed up the labels on the kennel. Instead of putting him on a three-and-a-half hour flight from Dallas to San Francisco, the airline sent him on a grueling journey through Iowa, then Chicago, before arriving at San Francisco International Airport.
They believe he had no water or food for at least 14 hours.
"When I picked him up, he was edged towards the back of his crate and he looked frightened," Matt Lakin told KPIX 5.
The Lakins said American never even contacted them about the mix-up. They didn't find out about it until Matt showed up at SFO and their dog was a no-show.
"We just want to make sure that this doesn't happen again," Alexis said. "We want people to know that there is carelessness and neglect going on and this is a live animal, this is someone's family member."
For now, the Lakins say they'll be driving Winston to their next destination.
On Wednesday night, American Airlines apologized for the mistake.
"We are glad that Winston made it safely to his intended destination of San Francisco yesterday, even though it was many hours later than originally scheduled. We're looking into how this error occurred and making sure the care Winston received was in line with our policies," the airline said in a statement.
The couple said the airline has offered to refund the dog's trip.