United Airlines sends a Kansas-bound dog to Japan

It’s been a frightening week for dog owners considering putting their pet on plane.

First, there was a report Tuesday that a puppy died on a United Airlines flight after a flight attendant demanded that the dog’s owner stow him inside the overhead compartment for the duration of a three-hour flight.

Now, this: A Kansas-bound German shepherd has mistakenly been shipped to Japan by — you guessed it — United Airlines during a connection in Denver.

According to KCTV in Kansas City, Mo, a family moving from Oregon to Wichita paid to have their dog, Irgo, shipped as cargo on a United flight.

But when the family went to United’s cargo center at the Kansas City airport, they were met by a Great Dane that was inside a pet carrier that looked similar to Irgo’s. United staff determined that the Great Dane was supposed to have been en route to Japan, and that Irgo had been sent to Japan instead.

When Irgo’s family spoke to KCTV on Tuesday, United still wasn’t certain of exactly where Irgo had gone. Airline officials later learned the dog did go to Japan and officials there put Irgo on a flight back to Kansas City. It isn’t clear when the dog will arrive home.

“I just want to know where my dog is. Like, the fact that we have no idea is the most frustrating part,” Kara Swindle, Irgo’s owner, told the TV station.

“It’s just horrible,” Swindle added.

The mix-up actually occurred during a connection in Denver, the airline said.

“An error occurred during connections in Denver for two pets sent to the wrong destinations, the statement said. “We have notified our customers that their pets have arrived safely and will arrange to return the pets to them as soon as possible.”

“We apologize for this mistake and are following up with the vendor kennel where they were kept overnight to understand what happened,” United said.