Delta airlines

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Many of you know that Noah was not the puppy I was supposed to get, but Delta Airlines switch Noah and his littermate during a layover.  How this happened no one really knows, but the puppies were in the correct crates when the breeder left them at the airport.  Delta compensated me and made me sign an agreement not to sue them.  I just came across this story regarding a dog that Delta lost. Please be very careful when you fly your pet and do not use Delta.  I have not flown Delta since they sent me the wrong dog, nor will I ever use it again after reading this story.  Fortunately my story has a happy ending as Noah turned out to be an incredibly sweet and amazing dood, and hopefully this lost dog will have a happy ending as well.

http://consumerist.com/2010/05/delta-loses-entire-dog.html

http://consumerist.com/2010/05/delta-offers-380-plus-2-more-200-vou...

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is terrible! I cannot IMAGINE. I can, however, imagine suing them if I was in the Paco's family's situation. DH is an attorney and has told me it is hard to sue for damages from pet loss (quantifying value and distress to family is very hard according to him). Believe me, I have wanted to sue someone on Taquito's behalf. That is crazy!

Jane, your story is still so unbelievable to me. But at least it worked out - Noah is a doll and has the best personality (so I have heard!).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In Jane's case, there was Divine Intervention at work...Noah was simply meant to be with Jane!

[Adina P]

I saw that linked on FB I think....HORRIBLE!

[Leigh & Allie]

Here is my horror story with Delta airlines. My father went into ICU this past Thanksgiving with a brain aneurysm. He underwent surgery to fix the problem. He was making progress but was still in the hospital over Christmas. My husband, son and I always go on a family vacation right after Christmas. This is also to celebrate my birthday which is the 27th of December. I kept holding my husband off from making the airline reservations until we knew how my dad was doing. We finally got the go ahead from my dad's doctor that he was out of the woods. He had even been moved to the regular hospital room. My husband booked the trip to San Diego and we were set to leave on afternoon of the 26th. He used airline miles we had built up but we had to pay an additional $700 because we booked the trip within the 2 week time period. So here we are on the 26th packing ready to get to the airport and I receive a call from my mom that my dad had passed. My husband went to make some calls to Delta to explain the situation. He was told they would need my dad's death certificate, obit. etc. Over the next few weeks my husband was attempting to deal with the situation as I could do nothing as it was very emotional for me. In the end, Delta did reimburse the miles but would not refund the $700. My husband wrote a scathing letter and even included the salaries of the top brass at the company (many make over 1 million a year) and said if they really needed the money they could keep it. He went on to explain that my dad had served his country as a World War II pilot and they should be ashamed of their actions. Still no response and it is now May.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Southwest is a company that would have never done that. I am appalled.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree that Noah was probably meant to be with you, Jane. I was very lucky to have very good experiences with Continental, when both dogs were shipped cross country to me.
Not that there could be adequate compensation for a lost pet but to only refund the shipping fee, shame on Delta. It's truly a wonder anyone flies anymore with the shabby treatment given by the airlines. Lately, I go to the top when I have a gripe. I sent an email the other day to the CEO of Verizon, about their customer service and gotten prompt, follow up calls by supervisory personnel. Leigh, don't let them get away with mistreating you. write to the CEO. You can find most email addresses by a little bit of Google searching.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

I have been a corporate international travel agent for the past 19+ years now and none of it surprises me. Truly, I can't name one airline that actually pays any attention to customer service anymore. I work for an account that does over 10 Million dollars a year in airfare alone, we can't even get decent help when calling airlines with our direct "preferred account contracts". Delta has gone from bad to worse with the Delta/Northwest merger, United in my opinion is the absolute worst of the worst and I thank God they do not allow dogs to be shipped anymore - you can't even get someone in the United States in customer service they are all in India or Indonesia!! I would pass along a warning that the United/Continental merger is not going to be a good thing on the dog shipping end. United has the controlling share, the account I work for does not even want us to even book United and has terminated our contract with them because they are so bad. I am very against shipping dogs/puppies/animals because of the experiences I have daily with airlines, I see how they treat human's I can't subject an innocent, defenseless animal to it. Off my soap box now :-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

That's discouraging . Recently, when I asked, for no particular reason, an obviously foreign customer service person where he was located, he told me he couldn't tell me for security reasons. Ha!

[Laura & Chewie]

These stories are horrific...things that should never happen.

Jane - I have read your story before and I am so happy that it had such a wonderful outcome. I am curious if the other people kept the dog intended for you? Did that story have a good outcome also?

[Leigh & Allie]

I can not believe you had to go through that. I know I watched my breeder's site practically every day looking for more pictures of Allie. She was my baby before I even met her in person. I can not imagine getting a different puppy then the one I had fallen in love with. I am sure Noah is in the right home.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

What was the difference in the puppies? Were they both boys and the same color? Did you pick Noah out personally or just on-line through a picture? Just curious how that all works since we got Gracie from a local breeder and visited her every weekend until we could bring her home!!!

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

This is outrageous. I will never fly Delta again. This is why Webber and I are driving to California from NC. I would rather do that than put him in the cargo hold of a plane these days. While surfing online once I found a site where the deaths of animals, by airport, were documented. It was frightening. Having puppies shipped to new owners has always concerned me as well. I know it is done every day and I guess most of them arrive just fine. But, the flying experience has changed.