Delta offers passenger Paula Rodriguez $1,800 after they LOST her dog while she was


Delta offers passenger Paula Rodriguez $1,800 after they LOST her dog while she was placed in a detention center overnight over visa issues

  • Paula Rodriguez’s six-year-old dog Maia was lost by Delta Airlines and is still missing
  • Rodriguez and Maia got to Atlanta before being turned back around due to visa paperwork issues
  • The owner was sent back home, but she has not given up hope in finding her dog

A woman was offered $1,800 from Delta Airlines after they lost her dog at Hartsfield- Jackson Atlanta Airport in Georgia on August 18.

Paula Rodriguez booked a flight to San Francisco from the Dominican Republic with her dog Maia for a two-week long vacation. 

During their layover in Georgia, Rodriguez was soon informed that her tourist visa ‘didn’t meet requirements’. 

Her visa was then canceled as border control staff told her she had to go back home on the next flight which wasn’t until the following day. 

The border patrol staff then moved her to a detention center to stay in overnight. 

Maia, Paula's six-year-old dog never reunited with her owner after being split up in the Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on August 18

Maia, Paula’s six-year-old dog never reunited with her owner after being split up in the Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on August 18

Because of US regulations Rodriguez was not allowed to stay at the airport to wait for her dog and had to get on the flight back home without her

Because of US regulations Rodriguez was not allowed to stay at the airport to wait for her dog and had to get on the flight back home without her

Mia still hasn't been found and Delta Airlines reached out to Rodriguez and offered compensation of $1,800 which her attorney's called an 'insult'

Mia still hasn’t been found and Delta Airlines reached out to Rodriguez and offered compensation of $1,800 which her attorney’s called an ‘insult’

In this time she was not able to have her dog back and was told she would get that opportunity once she touches back down in the Dominican Republic. 

According to New York Post Delta promised to keep an eye on Rodriguez’s six-year-old dog while she awaited deportation.

Their new flight back home was scheduled for 10.20am the following day where she was told her and her beloved pup would reunite, but Maia did not show up. 

Rodriguez told 7NEWS: ‘I started asking questions about where she’d be spending the night, and told him that she’d been in a lot of distress on the flight.’ 

Maia had diarrhea and puked when they got to Atlanta.

Because of US regulations Rodriguez was not allowed to stay at the airport to wait for her dog and had to get on the flight back home without her. 

The airline put her on a flight to Punta Cana, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Santo Domingo.

She hoped that the airline would put her dog on the next flight back to their home, but that never happened.

Rodriguez and Maia posing for a picture on the beach

Maia and her owner enjoying a view of the sunset

She hoped that the airline would put her dog on the next flight back to their home, but that never happened

She filed a report as soon as she got to Punta Cana after Maia was nowhere to be found. 

While she stayed put, her mother decided to go to the Santo Domingo airport in case the dog showed up there. 

Claims were then filed at the Atlanta and San Francisco airport. Staff went around to local shelters as well, but still, no sign of the dog. 

‘She’s been missing for more than 72 hours in the biggest airport in the United States,’ Rodriguez told Atlanta News First.

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport is 4,700 acres. 

Mia still hasn’t been found and Delta Airlines reached out to Rodriguez and offered compensation of $1,800 which her attorney’s called an ‘insult.’ 

In a statement Delta said that the money is not an ‘offer of compensation’ and claimed they ‘have shown sympathy through many actions, gestures and communications with our customer.’ 

Maia, a chihuahua mix has not been found and Rodriguez, her owner, has issued a $1,000 reward for any information on her lost dog

Maia, a chihuahua mix has not been found and Rodriguez, her owner, has issued a $1,000 reward for any information on her lost dog

In a statement Delta said that the money is not an 'offer of compensation' and claimed they 'have shown sympathy through many actions, gestures and communications with our customer'

In a statement Delta said that the money is not an ‘offer of compensation’ and claimed they ‘have shown sympathy through many actions, gestures and communications with our customer’

Delta added that they remain ‘heartbroken’ over the situation.  

Taking matters into her own hands, Rodriguez has turned to social media and posted videos on TikTok warning people to be on the lookout for Maia if they are at the Atlanta airport.

She has also issued a $1,000 reward for any information on where Maia might be. 

Rodriguez’s sister Danielle has also created a GoFundMe dedicated to raise money to help get the best possible resources to help find Maia. 



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