Family Accuses Delta Airlines of Refusing to Help Find Dog After She Escaped at Airport
A devastated family is desperately searching for a dog who disappeared after she chewed through a transport crate and ran away across the tarmac of Tampa International Airport – and they accuse the airline of not helping them find her.
Brady, a 4-year-old hound mix, was being flown from Tampa to Bermuda to reunite with her family, who recently moved there. She was being loaded onto a Delta plane when she escaped. She vanished into a wooded area near the airport, and hasn’t been seen since.
“Brady is part of our family,” her owner, William Gideon, tells PEOPLE. “We are sick about this. We’re worried, we’re devastated. We haven’t slept much, we can’t think of anything else. All we want is for Brady to be found and come back to our family.
Gideon had accepted a new job as a chef in Bermuda. He and his family had previously flown to the island. Brady was handled by a company that specializes in transporting animals; they brought Brady to the airport. “There were no problems at first,” says Gideon. “But when she got to Tampa International, Brady chewed through the crate and ran off the tarmac.”
“I assumed that Delta and the Tampa International Airport had a protocol for when things like this happen,” says Gideon. “But they really haven’t done anything. They basically say that this is my problem, not theirs.” (A spokesperson for Delta has not returned PEOPLE’s calls for comment.)
Gideon is most concerned because there was blood on the crate. “I’m worried because Brady is hurt,” he says. “It’s a nightmare for us all, to think about her out there, lost and alone and hurt.”
Several people in the vicinity have come forward saying that they have seen Brady. Scent tracking dogs were brought in on Monday morning in an attempt to find her.
“We’re very worried,” says Gideon. “And we’re not going to stop until we find her.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Hillsborough County Pet Resources at 813-744-5660.
