A woman was left devastated after American Airlines managed to lose her two cats on a recent flight from Los Angeles to New York City.
In a video shared to TikTok on Sunday, July 31, Ariel Dale stated that the airline had misplaced her beloved pets Stevie Nicks and Mr. Tumnus, during a cross-country flight.
"This is actually my worst nightmare. They’ve already been in the kennel for over 14 hours bcuz their flight was canceled," she captioned her heartbreaking video.
The footage shows her shaking her head in despair while Elton John's song 'I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself' plays in the background.
A number of TikTok users clearly empathized with her plight, and the brief clip has now racked up over 4.8 million views and 658,000 reactions, at the time of writing.
Dale later took to the comments to thank the commenters for their support, adding: "Hours later and I am FINALLY home with the cats. They offered no explanation for why no one knew where they were. Will upload full story tomorrow. [sic]"
In a follow-up post, she explained that she chose not to bring them on a commercial flight with other passengers because the two rescue cats can become acutely anxious around strangers.
She continued that when she arrived in LA, American Airlines gave her the wrong drop-off location for her cats, causing her to almost miss her flight.
After boarding, she received a text that her cats' flight had been delayed, and then another saying it was canceled. They were eventually booked for another flight, but then this rescheduled flight was also delayed as well.
After she landed in New York, she managed to contact an American Airlines spokesperson who assured her that her cats were safe and well.
But when she arrived a the terminal, it took an American Airlines staffer two hours trying to find the animals, and another hour passed before she was reunited with them.
In a later interview with Insider, Dale stated:
"When the American Airlines worker told me they didn't have my cats and didn't know where they were, I panicked, and my heart dropped to my stomach. I immediately fell to the floor and started crying."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for American Airlines has since commented on the incident, telling the above publication: "Caring for our animal travelers and ensuring they have a smooth and safe travel experience is always a top priority for us.
"We never like when travel plans are disrupted and are sorry for any inconvenience. Our team was in regular contact with Ariel throughout her pets' journey and she has been reunited with her furry companions since then."
