Air Canada loses a dog, then it's mind...

[Locutus]

Air Canada Loses Woman’s Dog, Spokesman Dismisses Inquiries In Accidental Email

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Air Canada admits it lost a customer’s precious cargo when one of its workers let a dog out of its crate, and it escaped.

CBS13 reached out to the airline about its pet policy, and we got a response we never expected.

Jutta Kulic is visiting Sacramento for a dog show, but her mind is back in San Francisco. That’s where the search for her dog that never made it to his final destination is now in its fifth day.

“I don’t know whether he was stunned, whether he was scared, whether he was hit,” Kulic said.

Before her friend passed away from cancer, Kulic promised to find good homes for her pets, including Larry, a 2-year-old Italian greyhound.

“These dogs are our family these dogs are the center of our universe,” she said.

And Kulic did find a home for Larry, in Canada.

This week, on her way to a dog show in Sacramento from their home in Ohio, Kulic booked a flight from San Francisco on Air Canada to Larry’s new home.

She zip-tied Larry’s crate several times before leaving him with the airline.

“And I very clearly instructed them never ever to open the door and let the dog out of that crate, unless he’s in a completely enclosed room,” Kulic said.

That flight ended up being cancelled and rescheduled for later that night.

Then came another call from Air Canada.

“They called me at about 6:30, and told me one of their employees had decided to walk the dog,” Kulic said.

Larry had run away, and Air Canada workers searching for the white and brown dog couldn’t find him.

“We’re sorry the animal was lost, because someone was simply stupid,” Kulic said.

Air Canada sent CBS13 a statement saying they have a team looking for Larry.

But we wanted answers about what went wrong—what procedures might not have been followed, and what they’re doing to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else’s pet.

Instead of answers, we got this email:

“I think I would just ignore, it is local news doing a story on a lost dog. Their entire government is shut down and about to default and this is how the US media spends its time.”

This message from Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick appears to be intended for a coworker.

When we showed it to Kulic, she was shocked.

“Oh my God,” she said. “I guess I wouldn’t expect anything different from a company that would allow something like this to happen.”

Later on Thursday, we got another response from another Air Canada spokesperson apologizing for the delay in response.

But that spokesperson said they didn’t have answers to our questions, but they’re investigating Larry’s escape.

Kulic is afraid she’ll never see Larry again.


Air Canada Loses Dog, Accidentally Dismisses U.S. Media Inquiries « CBS Sacramento

h/t sda


Hi Peter.

Peter.Fitzpatrick@aircanada.ca

Bye Peter. :lol:

 

[Nuggler]

Couple people looking for new jobs.

Just when the UE rate drops below 7%...........................wheee ?

Guess they didn't understand the concept of Greyhound, as in, can run like a bastard.

Or as in "don't let him out of the cage"

****ing numbnut stupid numbnuts..................numbnuts.............jesus !!!

Just when ya think the country has a chance, you read the news.

 

[karrie]

Like someone didn't sell the dog. It would have turned up by now otherwise.

 

[Johnnny]

Selling peoples pets on the black market is a profitable business....

 

[SLM]

Have idiots not learned to proof read their emails and check the address it's being sent to before hitting the send button???

Sigh, apparently not.

 

[B00Mer]

Sue the dam airline, they admitted they were negligent and sending out that letter caused emotional distress.. 5 million sound about right. Nice thing about emotional distress, it's priceless in courts.

sue, sue, sue!!!!

Air Canada loses woman's dog ( World News ) - YouTube

 

[petros]

Why in the hell would anyone fly Air Canada?

 

[spaminator]

I just heard on the news that larry was killed by a car. as soon as the news report update is posted I will post it.

 

[BaalsTears]

Is anyone familiar with the neighborhoods around SFO? Let's hope the pup doesn't end up as bait used in training pit bulls for dog fights.

 

[#juan]

During my working life...about 40 odd years, dozens of different airlines have lost God knows how many different things....luggage etc and I can't remember which airline was worst, or best......they are all about the same.....:roll:

 

[relic]

Seems like all you have to do now is say you're sorry and that's it. I'll wager that was an expensive dog. SUE !!

 

[spaminator]

I just heard on the news that larry was killed by a car. as soon as the news report update is posted I will post it.

Dog lost by Air Canada staff confirmed dead

10/27/2013 09:14 AM James Keller, The Canadian Press
An American woman who was attempting to relocate an Italian greyhound to a family in British Columbia, only to learn the dog was missing after it bolted from Air Canada employees at San Francisco’s airport, says she’s confirmed the animal died after apparently being hit by a car.
The case of Larry the greyhound caused a PR nightmare for Air Canada, first because of the nature of the missing cargo and then after a company official inadvertently sent a dismissive email about the subject to an American television station.
The dog ran away from its handlers at San Francisco International Airport on Oct. 7. Air Canada has said workers took the dog out of its crate during a flight delay, and the animal fled after either slipping out of its collar or breaking it.
Jutta Kulic, a retired dog breeder from Medina, Ohio, was shipping the dog to a couple in the Vancouver Island community of Campbell River, B.C. The dog originally belonged to Kulic’s friend, who recently died of cancer.
Kulic said she received a call earlier this week from a veterinary hospital in San Francisco, which treated the dog after a Good Samaritan found the dog on a highway the same day it disappeared and brought it in. The dog was badly injured and was put down, said Kulic.
Larry was euthanized almost three weeks ago, but Kulic said the veterinary hospital didn’t realize it was the same dog until this past Thursday.
“Finally, one of their staff members was going through the records, saw this Good Samaritan record and said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the dog everybody is looking for,’” Kulic said Saturday in an interview from Delaware, Ohio, where she was participating in a dog show.
“We were all very, very hopeful that he was still alive, so I know that they (the couple in Campbell River) were extraordinarily saddened, and so am I.”
There were reports early on that Larry was spotted along San Francisco’s Highway 101, and Kulic said at least one person thought they saw a vehicle hit a dog, but that was the last sighting connected to the animal.
As if the news that a major airline had lost a dog wasn’t bad enough, an Air Canada spokesman added fuel to the story when he inadvertently sent an email to a local CBS-TV reporter that said: “I think I would just ignore, it is local news doing a story on a lost dog. Their entire government is shut down and about to default and this is how the U.S. media spends its time.”
The email was intended for another spokesman within the company, and Air Canada quickly apologized.
The airline issued a written statement after learning the animal had been confirmed dead.
“Air Canada’s employees are extremely sad with the news about Larry,” the statement said.
“Many of our employees are pet owners and animal lovers, and our San Francisco team in particular continued to hold out hope that Larry would be found safe.”
The company said it has reminded employees about its policies for transporting animals.
Kulic said Air Canada’s initial response was “abysmal,” but she’s been in touch with the company in the past few days.
She said Air Canada agreed to cover the veterinary hospital’s expenses.
The airline has also agreed to transport Lynda White — who arranged to adopt Larry along with her husband, Duncan — to Ohio to pick up Larry’s brother, Leo.
“Instead of Larry, Leo will be joining Duncan and Lynda in Campbell River,” said Kulic, who, coincidentally, was showing Leo at a dog show in Delaware on Saturday, when the animal won the Best in Breed award.
“This dog will not be going in cargo. He’s small enough to fit into the under-seat carrier, so he will be in Lynda’s arms all the time.”
Kulic said she and the White family are still considering their next steps.
She said they have yet to ask Air Canada for any additional compensation, such as to cover the veterinary bills to prepare Leo for travel.
“They certainly have a huge responsibility,” said Kulic.
“I don’t know what Air Canada is going to do, and I don’t know what we’re going to do. I just wanted them to fix what they had broken.”
Dog lost by Air Canada staff confirmed dead | CityNews