On Tuesday, December 27,2011, Army CPT Catherine Cook flew from Atlanta to her post at Kaiserslautern, Germany, accompanied by her dog. (The CPT is a veterinarian for the U.S. Army and currently posted in Germany after being deployed to Afghanistan last year, and recently deployed on a mission with the U.S. Navy. She and her dog has been separated for all but three of the last 15 months.)After take off she learned that her dog had not been loaded on the plane. Upon arrival in Germany (12-14 hours after check in) she learned that her dog was still in Atlanta. Airline officials assured her that the dog was being walked, fed, watered, and cared for in general. The dog was finally delivered to CPT Cook over 48 hours after check in. The dog was covered in urine and feces, had a gash on her face, and intestinal distress. Obviously the dog had not been walked, fed, or watered during the whole time. Delta Airlines did not treat this live animal any different than any other piece of baggage. The CPT was lied to about the care of her dog during the wait time for transport. Delta Airlines has demonstrated that it is not trustworthy to transport animals and does not even provide the minimum of physical care when an animal is misplaced or lost, due to human error in this case. These actions are deplorable. Delta should not be allowed to transport animals as cargo.

There is no way to actually compensate the CPT, or her dog, for the physical mistreatment of her animal, or the emotional distress to her. Delta Airlines is definitely not to be trusted. CPT Cook should be compensated with multiple, if not unlimited lifetime upgraded international flights for herself and ticket her dog as a person to fly in the cabin, since it is not safe for an animal to travel in cargo on Delta Airlines. Someone needs to be held accountable for this gross act of negligence.