After enduring nearly a month of heartache and anxiety, a dog owner can finally rest after her missing dog was found safely at Atlanta\u2019s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on Saturday, according to airport officials. <\/p>\n
Delta Air Lines passenger Paula Rodriguez\u2019s 6-year-old dog, Maia, was lost in August at the airport, which is considered the busiest in the world. <\/p>\n
The airport\u2019s operations team found Maia hiding near the north cargo facilities, according to a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. \u201cTired but in apparent good health, she was transported to a vet and is expected to return home soon,\u201d airport officials said. <\/p>\n
On August 18, Rodriguez and Maia embarked on a journey from their home in the Dominican Republic to California for a two-week vacation. <\/p>\n
With the next flight to Punta Cana scheduled for the following day, Rodriguez faced the distressing reality of spending the night alone in a detention center, separated from her beloved canine companion. <\/p>\n
The next day, Rodriguez arrived at her flight\u2019s gate early, eagerly awaiting her reunion with Maia. To her dismay, Maia never arrived. <\/p>\n
Unable to remain in the United States for over 24 hours without a visa, Rodriguez was left with no choice but to board her flight to Punta Cana without Maia, an experience that she said triggered a panic attack during her journey home. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone who knows me knows what she means to me,\u201d Rodriguez said of her beloved pet. \u201cI don\u2019t go anywhere without her. She\u2019s so well behaved that I take her to restaurants, literally everywhere. She\u2019s my partner in everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
Despite Rodriguez\u2019s relentless calls to Delta for updates, weeks went by without receiving any new information. <\/p>\n
With the cancellation of her tourist visa, Rodriguez sent her mother to Atlanta to join the search efforts in the vast 4,000-acres of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. <\/p>\n