05 September 2023 , 00:43
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A woman has spoken of her fury when an airline offered her £1,400 after losing her dog during a journey.
Paula Rodriguez booked a flight to San Francisco from the Dominican Republic with her dog Maia for a two-week long trip. However, during their layover in Georgia, Rodriguez was informed her tourist visa 'didn't meet requirements'. Rodriguez was forced to spend the night at a detention centre and fly back to Santo Domingo the following morning, however when she was ready to board her flight home, Maia was missing.
Delta has reportedly promised to keep an eye on six-year-old dog while she awaited deportation, prompting Rodriguez to ask questions as to how she would be cared for while they were temporarily separated. However when she was told Maia was missing, US regulations meant Rodriguez was not allowed to stay at the airport to wait for her dog and had to get on the flight back home without her.
The airline put Rodriguez on a flight to Punta Cana, while she remained hopeful the airline would put her dog on the next flight back to their home - but sadly, Maia has still not been located. Delta however reached out to Rodriguez and offered $1,800 - which her lawyer said was an "insult."
Paula Rodriguez said Maia was like a member of the family (Instagram)
Delta has reportedly promised to keep an eye on six-year-old dog while she awaited deportation, prompting Rodriguez to ask questions as to how she would be cared for while they were temporarily separated (Instagram)Delta denied that money was an "offer of compensation" and claimed they "have shown sympathy through many actions, gestures and communications with our customer" and added they feel "heartbroken" at the situation. Rodriguez has issued a $1,000 reward for any information on where Maia might be, writes the Mail Online.
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Her sister Daniela has also created a GoFundMe page to help with resources as the family investigates what happened to Maia. Daniele said: "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 (email attached in photo). 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 has issued a $1,000 reward for any information on where Maia might be (Instagram)"Now, we are forced to take matters into our own hands. This horrific situation has left my sister sleepless, with constant panic attacks and no appetite. I do not want her to get worse. That is why we have resorted to the thousands of people who have showed us their support since the story came out in the news. Maia and Paula need hope, we all do. Hope that they will be together again.
"Our priority now is to find Maia. We have created this Gofundme page with the sincere aim of raising funds to cover the expenses to get the best resources available to try and locate Maia.'
The Mirror has contacted Delta for a comment.