Jeddah’s Fear of Flying

20 Jul 08

A 4 year old tan and white rescue dog called Jeddah who resembles an Ibizan or Pharaoh hound, was supposed to make a flight on the 10th of July, along with her two-legged companion, John Weisner - a US Army soldier.

John was on his way to a year-long assignment in Saudi Arabia when he learned that his beloved dog, Jeddah, was missing. She has no longer in her airline-issued kennel. She had escdaped. John found out a mere 15 minutes before he was scheduled to board a plane last week at Dulles International Airport.

John and his wife, Ronia, who drove to the airport with Jeddah from their North Carolina home, have been in the Washington area ever since. Awoooo!

The couple have said they could not leave the area without Jeddah. The couple’s search for Jeddah has touched strangers throughout the region. Hearing about their plight through the media and on the couple’s “Help Find Jeddah” website, volunteers have posted hundreds of fliers in and around the airport. In addition, Dulles employees have spent hours canvassing the airport’s nearly 12,000 acres, and a Reston neighborhood was searched after someone thought he saw the dog.

The Weisners have put up a $2,500 reward, which United Airlines agreed to match. Animal shelters in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties are on the lookout.

And a growing number of people around the world are monitoring the progress of the search via the internet.

“We don’t know at this point how she got out,” United Airlines spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said yesterday. “It’s unfortunate, and it’s very rare.”

Jeddah, who weighs 55 pounds, went missing about 9:30 p.m. July 10, about an hour after the Weisners checked her through security. When the couple arrived at the airport, they were told the kennel they brought for Jeddah could not go on the plane, and she would be placed in an airline-issued kennel.

The airline has said that they are “absolutely doing everything we can to help with the search.”

Paws crossed that Jeddah is safe and will soon rejoin his very concerned two-leggeds.

Awoof! Archie