Air Canada is in the doghouse for not only losing a precious pup, but also for the huge PR gaffe that followed.
Jutta Kulic had promised a dying friend she would find her pets, including a two-year-old Italian greyhound named Larry, good homes.
While on her way to a dog show in Sacramento, Calif., Kulic, who lives in Ohio, booked Larry a flight from San Francisco to his new home in Victoria, British Columbia. She left Air Canada with explicit instructions not to let Larry out of his zip-tied crate unless he was in a closed room.
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Kulic told CBS13 that the flight ended up getting cancelled and then rescheduled for later that night. She said she got a call around 6:30 p.m. that an airline employee had decided to take the dog for a walk, and now Larry was missing.
Air Canada told CBS13 that they were looking for the dog, but, when the station further questioned the airline about what went wrong, they got the following response from spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick:
"I think I would just ignore, it is local news doing a story on a lost dog. Their entire government is shut down and about to default and this is how the U.S. media spends its time."
RELATED: CALIF. PIT BULL MISSING FOR 3 YEARS FOUND IN FLA.
Oops.
Fitzpatrick's email appears to have been intended for a coworker and, later on Thursday, CBS13 got a message from a different Air Canada spokesperson apologizing for the delayed response. That person just said the airline is investigating Larry's case.
"I guess I'm the poster child now for Be Careful With Email," Fitzpatrick told The Toronto Star. "We didn't ignore [CBS13]. It wasn't like we didn't respond. We'd given them our statement and there really wasn't more to say."
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The airline did admit to CBC News that "inappropriate comments were made to a reporter's follow-up questions regarding Larry."
"Air Canada has been providing the best available information to media on this matter. However, these comments do not refer to the search for Larry by Air Canada employees that is ongoing or our interest in returning him safely," it said.
Kulic told CBC on Friday that she believes that a car struck Larry soon after he went missing.
"What we haven't been able to confirm is whether or not he was killed," she said. "He may or may not be dead but we do know that he was hit."
vtaylor@nydailynews. com
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via www.nydailynews.com/news/world/air-canada-loses-dog-sends-station-inappropriate-email-article-1.1483560
Jutta Kulic had promised a dying friend she would find her pets, including a two-year-old Italian greyhound named Larry, good homes.
While on her way to a dog show in Sacramento, Calif., Kulic, who lives in Ohio, booked Larry a flight from San Francisco to his new home in Victoria, British Columbia. She left Air Canada with explicit instructions not to let Larry out of his zip-tied crate unless he was in a closed room.
RELATED: AIRPORT DOGS DE-STRESS TRAVELERS
CBS Sacramento
The dog was supposed to travel from San Francisco to his new home in Victoria, British Columbia.
Kulic told CBS13 that the flight ended up getting cancelled and then rescheduled for later that night. She said she got a call around 6:30 p.m. that an airline employee had decided to take the dog for a walk, and now Larry was missing.
Air Canada told CBS13 that they were looking for the dog, but, when the station further questioned the airline about what went wrong, they got the following response from spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick:
"I think I would just ignore, it is local news doing a story on a lost dog. Their entire government is shut down and about to default and this is how the U.S. media spends its time."
RELATED: CALIF. PIT BULL MISSING FOR 3 YEARS FOUND IN FLA.
CBS Sacramento
Kulic said she believes Larry was hit by a car, but she has not gotten confirmation about whether he is dead or alive.
Oops.
Fitzpatrick's email appears to have been intended for a coworker and, later on Thursday, CBS13 got a message from a different Air Canada spokesperson apologizing for the delayed response. That person just said the airline is investigating Larry's case.
"I guess I'm the poster child now for Be Careful With Email," Fitzpatrick told The Toronto Star. "We didn't ignore [CBS13]. It wasn't like we didn't respond. We'd given them our statement and there really wasn't more to say."
RELATED: PLANE PASSENGER TRIES TO SNEAK TURTLE ONBOARD DISGUISED AS HAMBURGER
CBS Sacramento
An Air Canada spokesperson sent CBS13 an email apparently intended for a coworker that said, "I think I would just ignore, it is local news doing a story on a lost dog.”
The airline did admit to CBC News that "inappropriate comments were made to a reporter's follow-up questions regarding Larry."
"Air Canada has been providing the best available information to media on this matter. However, these comments do not refer to the search for Larry by Air Canada employees that is ongoing or our interest in returning him safely," it said.
Kulic told CBC on Friday that she believes that a car struck Larry soon after he went missing.
"What we haven't been able to confirm is whether or not he was killed," she said. "He may or may not be dead but we do know that he was hit."
vtaylor@nydailynews. com
On a mobile device? Watch the video here.
via www.nydailynews.com/news/world/air-canada-loses-dog-sends-station-inappropriate-email-article-1.1483560
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