Dog Chase At New York's Laguardia Airport

[MolassesLass]

A large, rare dog bolted from a cargo holding area at La Guardia Airport today, sending workers there on a wild chase along runways and taxiways before it leapt into Flushing Bay.

After using the airport as its own personal dog run, the 98-pound male Perro de Presa Canario swam about a mile from shore before being rescued by NYPD Harbor Patrol, authorities said.

The dog escaped from a carrying case in the cargo hold of Continental Flight 232, which had just arrived from Houston around 2 p.m., said NYPD Det. Glenn Koch. When workers opened the cargo door, the dog jumped out darted down the runway.

Port Authority workers tried to capture it, but the canine spent about 20 to 30 minutes eluding them along taxiways and runways before jumping into Flushing Bay from the end of a runway, said Koch.

The dog swam for about 40 minutes in 60-degree waters before being lassoed in by harbor police.

Koch said the dog was "tired" and "didn’t give us much of a fight when we dragged him out of the water."

Once onboard, he was "feisty at first, but he calmed down," said NYPD harbor cop Jeff Rosenvold, who reeled the dog in.

Steve Coleman, a PA spokesman, said the dog wasn’t injured and "appears in good shape" and that airport service "was not adversely affected."

However, cops said that three flights were delayed.

The dog was eventually returned to its owner.

- Story

[spottychick]

This is kind of hilarious but serious too - the dog could have been hurt or killed. What's the deal with all these stories of dogs being "lost" etc at airports. It's enough to put you off sending them on a plane

[frufru]

Sounds like the crate being used to ship the dog was either not strong enough or not locked securely. Not much workers could do if they opened the cargo hold and the dog was already loose :laugh: Owners were lucky it was resuced.