I am getting my puppy ground shipped the week after next. I hope they are kinder to the dogs than Delta! Stefanie
--- On Sat, 1/3/09, e holley <[email protected]> wrote: From: e holley <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Chihuahuas] FW: WARNING!!!!!!!!!!! Shipping pets with Delta Airlines To: [email protected] Date: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 6:26 PM And that is why you either fly out and pick up your puppy in person like I did, or........use Continental the best of the puppy people! Very kind and caring! Elizabeth --- On Sat, 1/3/09, Mare~~ <bittyd...@gmail. com> wrote: > From: Mare~~ <bittyd...@gmail. com> > Subject: [Chihuahuas] FW: WARNING!!!!! !!!!!! Shipping pets with Delta > Airlines > To: chihuah...@yahoogro ups.com > Date: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 2:32 PM > This is documentation of the disregard Delta Airline has for > the care or the > lives of our pets while in their possession. > > I was having a new pet shipped to me in Dallas from > Richmond Virginia on > December 21st 2008. The puppy was to be on flight #5718 > from Va. to Atlanta > at 12:00 p.m. their time. She was then to connect with > fight #1923, Atlanta > to Dallas and arrive at Dallas 4:44 p.m. our time. I was at > the Delta cargo > desk at 4:15 to pick her up. > > The flight from Virginia was delayed and she was going to > be late. The > attendant at the Delta desk could not tell me when she > might arrive??? > > I call Delta’s “Pet First” 800 number. I was advised > that the plane was > delayed from take off in Virginian by 4 hours. I ask where > the puppy was or > if the puppy was on the flight from VA. to Atlanta. I was > told by Pet First > that the Richmond office was closed and she could not tell > me anything! NO > ONE HAD ENTERED THE SHIPPING CONFORMATION NUMBER IN THEIR > COMPUTER. > > At the Delta desk in Dallas I am told that there was no > information in the > computer so she could not tell me anything. Then the > attendant promptly > walked to the back office never to be seen again. > > I call Delta’s Pet First. She cannot tell me if the puppy > was on any plane. > She did not know if the puppy sat on the tarmac for 4 hours > or what has > happened to the puppy. Two hours latter I get the same > store and I voice > concerns about the health of this puppy. I am told they > always are kept in a > kennel. I ask if there is someone there to give her water. > I get the same > answer, “they are always kept in a kennel” but she will > never answer if > there is anyone to care for the puppy’s basic needs of > food or even water. > > I arrived at Deltas shipping office at 4:30 and it is now > 6:00 and I know > nothing. I don’t know if the puppy was taken off the > plane in Virginia. I > don’t know if the puppy was left in a plane for 4 hours > then flown to > Atlanta. I don’t know if she made it to Atlanta. I call > Deltas Pet First > AGAIN and asked them to contact Atlanta and see if the > puppy made it there. > There is no one at the Dallas Delta desk in Dallas to even > talk to. I am > told by Pet First that no one has entered the manifest > number and she can’t > tell me anything. Obviously she was not on the 4:44 flight > from Atlanta but > MAYBE she will be on the 7:40 flight from Atlanta. I am > sitting at the delta > desk with no assistance from any Delta employee. > > This is the empty “service” desk at the huge Delta > shipping warehouse and > the only Delta employee I can find to talk to is an 800 > number called Pet > First and they know NOTHING. > > I arrived at 4:15 and it is now 8:00. The Delta “customer > service” employee > suddenly appears and announces they are locking up the > building. She can > tell me absolutely nothing about where this puppy is or if > she will ever get > here. I am left with the option to leave or to get locked > in the building. I > am told if the puppy gets here a warehouse worker will give > her to me > because she was pre-paid and he will let me out the loading > dock doors. She > obviously missed flight 1543 that arrived at 7:40 and there > is not one Delta > employee that can tell me anything about where this puppy > is. If I leave and > she does arrive sometime tonight I fear she will have been > without water for > 24 hours so I stay and get locked in. Of coarse if the > building catches on > fire I could burn to death but I am not worried about that > and obviously > Delta isn’t either. > > It is now 10:00 at night and I have been sitting on this > concrete bench for > 6 hours in an empty lobby! > > Delta has been no help whatsoever and all I can do is stare > thru a steel > doors window into this empty warehouse. > > I call Pet First again and I am told that there is another > flight from > Atlanta that was supposed to get to Dallas at 9:10 but has > been delayed. No > one can tell me if the puppy is on that plane or anything > about her > condition. I voice my concerns that it has been well below > freezing > everywhere this dog has been and I am given the same pat > answer that “they > are always in a kennel”. Well I am standing in the empty > warehouse in Dallas > she is supposed to be coming to. I don’t see any > “kennel”. I don’t see > anyone to give the puppy food or water and this dog has > been somewhere on > Delta planes for about 12 hours now. Not only have I paid > lots of money to > get this dog shipped by Delta but I really think there is a > possibility the > puppy could have frozen to death inside some plane by this > time. I am really > on the edge of going postal! > > A warehouse worker then appears from some office upstairs > and walks by me. I > ask if the plane finally got here and he does not answer or > even acknowledge > my existence. He disappears out the back of the warehouse > then about ten > minutes later comes back in the lobby where I have been > sitting for hours > and says my dog is here and I need to sign for her. He lets > me inside to the > warehouse counter and he hands me papers and says “sign > here”. I asked to > see her and he says that it is pre-paid and just sigh right > here. I am > really getting upset at this time and I tell him this dog > has been on a > plane somewhere for over 12 hours and I am not signing for > a dog that might > not even be alive by now. He points behind the counter and > says “it’s over > there”. > > The entire top of this new carrier was crushed. You could > see the definite > outline of a handle from a luggage bag that had penetrated > the carrier > completely. This puppy had obviously been throw around and > luggage had > obviously been thrown upon it with no regard for the > puppies well being or > life. That Delta worker is so luck this puppy was still > alive because I > would have spent many years in jail if it wasn’t. > > > > > > > > Delta does not track or treat a live animals other than it > would luggage. > There is no such thing as a “kennel” that Delta > maintains for animals. > There is no one with Delta to give animal any food or water > or care of any > kind. > Delta claims that the animals are always in a heated > pressurized area of the > plane. IF so, tell me how a bag got thrown on the puppy > carrier with such > force it caved in the top. > > Not only will I never ship with Delta again, I will never > fly with Delta > again. I will send this email to every breeder and pet > owner I can find and > ask you all to do the same. > > Mike Hughes
