A stowaway Chihuahua was found by TSA agents in a checked suitcase bound for Los Angeles after an alarm went off at New York City's LaGuardia Airport.
The owner claimed the 7-year-old beige and brown dog sneaked into the luggage which she had checked onto an American Airlines flight to Los Angeles, Lisa Farbstein, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, was reported as saying by Reuters.
"She was just as surprised as we were," Farbstein said. "The woman said that the dog must have climbed into the suitcase and curled up in the clothing while she was packing for her trip."
The discovery on March 3 was made as the luggage was headed for the plane's cargo hold, through the usual screening equipment designed to detect anything out of the ordinary. When an alarm sounded, agents popped open the suitcase to inspect its contents and found the tea cup-sized rover.
"The officer was very surprised to see the dog," said Farbstein.
TSA agents, whose past checked luggage searches have turned up such dangerous items as a gas-filled chainsaw, reunited the tiny dog with its owner, who was not identified.
The woman contacted her husband, who retrieved the pet and brought it home.
American Airlines said it did not have any information about the incident, including how cold or hot a plane's cargo hold can get.
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