Dog On Tarmac Halts Planes at LaGuardia Airport

Here, girl!

  • Share
  • Read Later
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A man attempts to retrieve a puppy named Byrdie after it escaped from its cage at LaGuardia Airport on April 25, 2012 in New York City.

A Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy named Byrdie caused delays yesterday when she was said to have bolted out of her kennel and onto the runway at New York’s LaGuardia airport, with numerous airline staff in full pursuit.

Fortunately, just like every Disney movie since the beginning of time, this stray-animal-on-the-loose tale has a happy ending. The chase went on for some twenty minutes, as passengers on the Memphis-bound Delta flight that Byrdie was supposed to have boarded looked on, the New York Post reported.

But only the puppy’s owner, Austin Varner, could eventually corral the pet. “She was just standing there,” said Varner to the Post, adding a sentiment that devoted dog owners everywhere understand: “She didn’t want to come to them. But she came right to me, and we got her.”

Apparently, the puppy pursuit wasn’t for lack of effort on the part of airport staff. According to one airline passenger’s description to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “there was a total of 11 trucks trying to corner the dog.” Varner had her own rationale for Byrdie’s runway adventure after the plane landed. “I think she just wanted a little exercise,” she told the Memphis newspaper.

(More: Flightless Birds No More: Penguin Pair Flies First Class on Delta )