KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WSVN) — A beloved family pet that was supposed to be on a United Airlines flight to Kansas was instead sent to Japan.
Kara Swindle told KCTV she and her family were in the process of moving from Oregon to Kansas when they sent their 10-year-old German shepherd Irgo on a United flight to Kansas City.
After Swindle and her two children arrived in the city on a different flight, they went to a United cargo facility to pick up their family pet. However, instead of Irgo, United gave them a Great Dane instead.
Swindle later discovered that due to a mix-up, Irgo had been sent to Japan in the Great Dane’s place.
Irgo was eventually found in Japan, but initially, United told the Swindles that because Irgo was on an international flight, he may need to be quarantined in the country for up to two weeks, KCTV reports.
Since then, the airline said Irgo will be seen by a veterinarian and then put back on a flight back to Kansas.
Swindle said she doesn’t know how the mix-up happened, but she said the airline told her the kennels Irgo and the Great Dane were in were similar.
United released a statement in regards to the incident.
“An error occurred during connections in Denver for two pets sent to the wrong destinations. We have notified our customers that their pets have arrived safely and will arrange to return the pets to them as soon as possible. We apologize for this mistake and are following up with the vendor kennel where they were kept overnight to understand what happened.”
This mix-up comes after United made headlines after a puppy died on a United plane after a flight attendant ordered its owner to put the animal in the plane’s overhead bin.
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