Airline ships family’s Nashville-bound dog to Saudi Arabia

A Tennessee family is demanding answers after an airline mistakenly sent their Nashville-bound dog halfway across the world to Saudi Arabia.

The family, who was moving from London to Tennessee, discovered the shocking snafu when they arrived at the Nashville International Airport and were given the wrong dog, according to a new report.

“They said she wasn’t in Nashville, and they said their best guess was she was in Saudi Arabia,” Madison Miller told WSMV, referring to her beloved 5-year-old rescue pup named Bluebell.

After about an hour, airport staff sent her a photo of Bluebell locked in her crate, confirming that she was in the middle eastern kingdom.

Miller told the outlet that she was already anxious about putting Bluebell on an hours-long flight after hearing “horror stories.

For three days Miller and her husband restlessly waited for their dog to be returned to them. However, when they finally got her back after three flights and 63 hours,  they said she’d changed into a completely different dog.

“I anticipated kind of like the reunion you see on YouTube,” Miller said. “Like she comes out of the crate, she’s wagging and licking your face. It was the opposite.”

Instead, she bolted.

“We had to go and grab her because she was so horrified and that’s when we knew something was wrong,” Miller said.

Since moving into her new home in Brentwood, Bluebell’s problems have continued, she said. She often sits alone and cries and even chewed through a door.

Miller is demanding answers as to how such a horrible mix-up could happen.

“They said this has never happened before, we don’t even understand how it could happen because there are so many safety checks in place,” Miller said.

British Airways forwarded a request for comment to the cargo company, IAG Cargo, who apologized for “for the recent error that occurred during Bluebell’s trip to Nashville.”

“We take the responsibility of caring for people’s loved animals seriously and are investigating how the redirection happened,” the company said in a statement to WSMV. “Whilst Bluebell’s route was longer than it should have been, we ensured she was on the first flight back to Nashville from London Heathrow.”

The company said that during the time the dog spent with them she “received refreshments frequently and had time outside to stretch her legs – including regular walks and eight hours with the team at the Heathrow Animal Reception center who cared for her.

“Despite these measures, we understand that this has been an upsetting situation for Bluebell and her owners and remain in contact with them to resolve the situation.”

Bluebell’s owners said they hope to get some financial compensation from them for the error.