Delta passenger’s dog found safe after missing at the airport for three weeks

Three weeks ago, Delta Air Lines passenger Paula Rodriguez's dog Maia went missing at Atlanta's Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Fortunately, Maia was found over the weekend.

“ATL's Operations team found her hiding near the North Cargo facilities,” the airport posted. “Tired but in apparent good health, she was transported to a vet and is expected to return home soon.”

The ordeal began after Rodriguez and Maia, on their way from their home in the Dominican Republic to California, were denied entry by border patrol staff because her visa reportedly was not up to snuff. She was forced to hand Maia off to a Delta agent and spend the night in a detention center. When she arrived at the gate for her flight home the next morning, Maia didn't arrive and Rodriguez had no choice but to get on the plane without her.

From CNN:

Two days after Maia went missing, a Delta representative contacted Rodriguez to share unfortunate news. “He said that she was being transported (to the plane) on the runway, and staff had opened her kennel, and she had escaped into the middle of the runway,” Rodriguez told CNN.

Despite Rodriguez's relentless calls to Delta for updates, weeks went by without receiving any new information.

A Delta spokesperson previously told CNN in a statement: “Delta teams have been working to locate and reunite this pet with the customer and we remain in touch with the customer to provide updates. Delta people feel deeply concerned for the customer and the dog and we're committed to ongoing search efforts, working closely with the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation and other stakeholders.”