Shocking esperience for our dogs
We flew from Cape Town to Lanseria on Wednesday the 3rd January, our flight was set to leave at 17:00. We had checked our baggage in and after a long winded story, managed to check our pets in. Why I say long winded is the cages had to be scanned separately and getting the dogs in and out of the cages was quite traumatic for them. Once we had them finally in their cages, secured and semi comfortable, we proceeded to our boarding gate. When we arrived at the boarding gates, the check in clerk informed us that one of our dogs escaped from the cage and was running on the runways. First of all, why was this not announced over the PA system so we could expedite our arrival at the gate and help remedy the situation. It was handled in a very casual “by the way” manner. We were then told to meet someone at the base of the plane who would help us further. My wife went with the gentleman who drove her to where our dog was. My daughter and I were standing at the top of the staircase watching our poor dog been chased by yellow SUV’s, why they did not get out and try to catch her is beyond me? Instead they tried to corner her which made her feel more anxious. At this point my daughter was hysterical as she is watching our dog darting between planes landing and taking off.
After about 10 to 15 minutes, I eventually see my wife arrive where our dog is but the people who escorted her kept threatening that if our dog did not return to her, they would have no choice but to restrain the dog. That certainly helped in calming the situation down (I do hope you got the sarcasm in that) Furthermore, my wife was not allowed to proceed past a certain point. So our poor dog, who at this point is heavily anxious and traumatised, cannot hear the calls of my wife due to sound of plane engines. Eventually my wife manages to get close enough and our dog runs toward her.
They then proceed to the cargo hold and instruct my wife to make her way onto the aeroplane. The same *********** people who allowed her to escape the first time are now dishing instructions of authority. My wife stays and makes sure our dog is safely in the cargo hold. Which, by the way, is a terrible place to spend 2 hours. I don’t care if you are a human or an animal.
We flew from Lanseria to Cape Town with no issues, suddenly the Cape Town ground crew or cargo crew display their incompetence and risk the life of our dog. This is an absolute outrage. Please imagine if this had gone bad and our dog was unable to get out of the way of one of the aeroplanes.
I expect this to be addressed.