Airline ‘insults’ passenger by offering $1,800 for losing her dog | US News

Delta Air Lines has offered a passenger $1,800 after losing her dog – which the distressed woman’s attorney deems an insult.

The airline said it was taking ‘good care of’ Paula Rodriguez’s pup Maia when she was detained at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport because her tourist visa did not meet requirements.

Rodriguez was moved to a detention center for the night by border patrol staff and told to take a flight the next day back to the Dominican Republic. She was also told that she would get Maia back when she landed in her home country – but that did not happen.

Maia was nowhere to be found and has been missing since August 18.

Rodriguez’s attorney said Delta’s monetary offer to her was an ‘insult’, CBS correspondent David Begnaud reported.

Meanwhile, Delta stated that it was not an ‘offer of compensation’ and that they ‘have shown sympathy through many actions, gestures and communications with our customer’.

Rodriguez’s sister in a GoFundMe page to help reunite Maia with her owner wrote: ‘It has almost been 2 weeks now and delta, a multi-billion dollar airline have responded with “the teams will keep their eyes and ears open” but will not be actively searching for Maia anymore and will not contribute to any search services.

‘They also will not give my sister access to the security cameras in order to locate Maia’s exact whereabouts, a crucial piece of information.’

Rodriguez and Maia went ‘everywhere together, which is probably why Maia so desperately broke through her kennel bag when they were separated’, wrote the sister.

The family is seeking funds to hire professional pet detectives, search dog services, surveillance services and legal consultations, among other avenues.

‘This is a time for humans, strangers to come together against all odds of a multi-billion dollar airline not claiming responsibility for their actions,’ wrote Rodriguez’s sister. ‘We need to take action.’

In addition, Rodriguez’s mother reportedly flew to Atlanta to search for Maia at the 4,700-acre airport and animal shelters, to no avail.

Rodriguez, who has been hospitalized several times with emotional trauma according to the GoFundMe page, stated: ‘Maia is my whole heart and I KNOW she is out there somewhere looking for her mom.

‘I need your contribution to help in our search efforts to bring me closer to reuniting with my baby.’

The fundraiser had garnered more than $5,000 in donations as of Tuesday evening.

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