A couple who recently moved from the United Kingdom to Nashville, Tennessee, says their beloved dog is still traumatized after an airline mistake led to the pet being flown to Saudi Arabia instead.
James Miller booked a flight for Dec. 1 from London’s Heathrow Airport to Nashville, NPR reported. His wife, Madison Miller, had flown to Nashville the previous day so she could prepare their new home for Bluebell, the Millers’ rescue Labrador mix who is about 5 years old.
James was traveling with British Airways, which requires pets to fly in a temperature-controlled cargo hold. But instead of being loaded onto the Nashville-bound flight, Bluebell’s crate was put on an airplane headed to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
Because there are no direct flights between Riyadh and Nashville, Bluebell had to fly back to London on the next available flight, then take a third international flight to Tennessee. Including time spent waiting for flights, the journey took more than 60 hours.
By the time Bluebell got to Nashville, she was “petrified, crying constantly,” Madison Miller told HuffPost in an email. “We opened her crate and she bolted … towards the parking lot. She wanted to get as far away as possible from the crate.”
British Airways referred HuffPost to IAG Cargo, the company that handles BA’s pet transportation.
“We are very sorry for the recent error that occurred during Bluebell’s trip to Nashville,” an IAG Cargo spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company is “investigating how the redirection happened.”
The Millers and IAG have differing characterizations of the conditions the dog faced on her journey.
IAG’s statement said Bluebell “received refreshments frequently and had time outside to stretch her legs ― including regular walks and eight hours with the team at the Heathrow Animal Reception centre who cared for her.”
But Madison Miller said that based on her communication with British Airways at the time, her understanding is that Bluebell only received a 20-minute walk during her 27 hours in Riyadh. Madison also said that while Bluebell had regular access to water, she could only be fed twice during the multi-day journey, since animals are not allowed to have food in their crates while in transit.
IAG did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about how much Bluebell was fed and walked.
Courtesy of Madison Miller
Whatever she experienced during her journey, Bluebell has been a wreck since she got home, Madison said.
“Bluebell is battling separation anxiety and is very fearful of strangers at the moment, understandably,” she told HuffPost. “We can’t leave her on her own for now as she becomes distressed and destructive.”
The Millers are asking British Airways for about $10,000 to cover expenses including behavioral therapy for Bluebell, anxiety medication, and costs related to objects the dog has destroyed in their new home, according to NPR. So far, Madison said they have only been offered frequent flier miles.
A similar airline mix-up made headlines in 2018, when United Airlines mistakenly flew a Great Dane named Irgo to Japan, rather than Kansas City, Missouri. In that case, United paid for a private charter flight to take Irgo to his intended destination.
