Rescue dog runs amok at airport
Pearson flights delayed because of 12-hour chase
A rescue dog at Toronto’s Pearson Airport forced multiple flights to delay takeoff and led foster handlers and airport staff on a 12- hour chase after she broke free of her cage.
Crystal, a white Spanish podenco, had landed in Toronto at 8 p. m. on Sept. 28, having completed a 10- hour flight from Spain with British Airways.
However, her crate door was allegedly not securely fastened and once the cargo doors opened, the skinny pup made a dash for it onto the tarmac.
Rhonda Martins, who had arranged Crystal’s adoption by a family in Canada, said airport staff allowed her security clearance to search for Crystal.
“I (got) security clearance to go out on the tarmac, and one of the guys drove me around for hours,” Martins told the CBC. “It rained so bad. We had hoped she’d get cover, but she just kept running.”
Finally, Martins had to return to her hotel with three other podencos in tow.
Over the next 12 hours, a highly co- ordinated search ensued, with CC TV security, thermal infrared cameras and a call to Falcon Environment Services, the airport wildlife team. All arrivals and departures were suspended for an hour Tuesday morning.
Falconer Keith Everett said he drove up and down the runway for hours, in the hopes of tracking and luring the dog to safety. “Boy, could she run,” he told CBC.
Chris Stubbs, an aviation safety officer, told CBC that the control tower diverted at least one aircraft away from the affected runway.
Finding Crystal wasn’t the issue, Stubbs said — the hardest part was being able to catch her. “There were times where it just looked like a white blur running down the taxiway,” he said.
Podencos are close relatives of the greyhound, which explains Crystal’s speed and agility.
Twice, she appeared on the runway as aircraft were landing, forcing pilots to abort.
“Make no mistake, this was a very serious situation,” Beverley Farmer, co-founder of Podenco Friends, wrote on Facebook. “Luckily the pilots did see her. This could have ended so badly.”
By the 12th hour, Crystal had worn herself out and crawled under a truck to rest. Everett was able to crawl close and slip a leash on her. Rather than rush her out, he stayed under the truck with the scared, exhausted pup and tried to gain her trust by talking and giving her treats.
Crystal is now safe with her new family in New Brunswick.
And what does Crystal think of the ordeal she caused?
“Typical podenco, like ‘ What is all the fuss about and someone get me a cheeseburger,’” Farmer said.