Dog Put on Wrong WestJet Flight Escapes, Is Later Found Safe

After WestJet accidentally put a dog on the wrong flight and he broke loose during a bathroom break, the airline is breathing a little easier now that the dog was found safe, although dirty, wet from rainstorms, and hungry, more than 24 hours later.

Cooper, a golden Labradoodle, was supposed to fly from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Deer Lake, Newfoundland, on Wednesday to be with family while the owners went to Jamaica for a wedding, according to the Globe and Mail. The dog was mistakenly put on a flight to Hamilton, Ontario, instead, and then he broke loose when an employee took him out for a bathroom break.

WestJet contacted the owners and flew them to Hamilton on Thursday to search for their missing dog, the Globe and Mail said.

Others in the community, including local animal rescue groups, searched as well, and the dog was finally found Friday morning around 9 a.m. near the airport by searchers, who penned him in until his owners arrived.

“It’s the most overwhelming feeling of happiness,” Chelsea Simon, one of Cooper’s owners, said, the Globe and Mail reported.

Other than being dirty and hungry, the dog was healthy.

WestJet apologized for the mess and offered to pay for Cooper’s vet bills, as well to help everyone get back home, the CBC reported.

“Our primary focus was reuniting Cooper and his owner, and we are in touch with (other owner) Terri to make sure he is OK,” said WestJet spokesperson Lauren Stewart by email, the CBC reported.

“Thousands of people helped me,” Terri Pittman said, referring to those who shared the story on social media, called her with Cooper sightings, and searched through a rainy night to help find the lost dog, the CBC reported.

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