A night of panic for an Ontario breeder and a dog owner waiting in Manitoba after a puppy didn’t show up at Winnipeg’s airport.
Wednesday, an eight-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog was being flown from Ontario to Winnipeg. But Levon did not get off his flight, to the shock of the person picking him up.
An outpouring of concern on social media as the breeder, Jennifer Lennon of Haustier Bernese Mountain Dogs in Picton, Ont., put out an alert on Facebook that the pup was stolen from James Richardson International Airport.
She later learned the dog was accidentally sent to Calgary, instead of being removed from the aircraft in Winnipeg.
Wednesday evening, WestJet said it was trying to figure out how the mix-up happened on its flight.
“The dog overflew,” said Brie Ogle, WestJet media relations. “It was not lost, not missing, certainly not stolen.”
Ogle said three dogs were on the flight. Two were in crates and travelling with their owners; Levon was in cargo. Ogle said ground handlers in Winnipeg are not WestJet employees and are instead contracted workers.
The pup remained on the plane as it carried on to Calgary and arrived safe and sound. A friend of the breeder’s picked up the dog to care for it overnight. The dog was flown back to Winnipeg Thursday and its owner Bill Friday picked up the animal.
Friday said he is beyond happy to have his puppy in his possession. And he says Levon seems to share that emotion. "He's so happy to be home with me,” said Friday.
WestJet said it is investigating how this incident could have happened.
"We safely transport animals every day. But unfortunately it seems like in this case, every once in a while, human error gets in the way,” said Brie Thorsteinson from WestJet.
For Bill Friday, the only thing that really matters is that Levon is safe.
The well-travelled dog made one more journey Thursday. He travelled from Winnipeg to his new home in Kenora.
- with a report from Jon Hendricks
