Delta put an 8-week-old puppy on multiple wrong flights while its owner was ignored by customer service

• Delta Air Lines sent an 8-week-old puppy on multiple incorrect flights over the weekend.
• The dog was given to its owner, Josh Schlaich, on Sunday evening.
• On Facebook, Schlaich described a frustrating experience with Delta’s customer-service representatives.

Delta Air Lines sent an 8-week-old puppy named Ren on multiple incorrect flights over the weekend, leaving its owner, Josh Schlaich, in the dark for much of the time.

Schlaich had bought the dog from a breeder in Virginia, who put it on a Delta flight to Boise with a stopover in Minneapolis. Ren was supposed to arrive Saturday night but didn’t reach Boise until Sunday evening after Delta sent the puppy to Detroit, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City.

Schlaich says he was led to believe Ren would arrive on Sunday afternoon, but when he went to pick up Ren, he was given the wrong puppy.

On Facebook, Schlaich described a frustrating and confusing experience with the airline’s customer-service representatives, CNN reported. According to the report, Schlaich said someone from the Delta terminal in Detroit called him with instructions to call another number.

"Was then given the number of the boarding facility - a disconnected line," Schlaich reportedly wrote. "Was not given a call back number by Detroit person, and the customer service would not give me their direct line. Tried calling Delta Cargo customer service, only to be yelled at by the rep and hung up on.

"No idea where my dog is, or what conditions he'll be placed under for the next 24 or more hours. Don't know when he will come into Boise tomorrow. No idea who to call. Absolutely ridiculous customer service."

Delta eventually responded, the CNN report said. In an update to the post after receiving his dog, Schlaich said that "local Delta reps (in Boise) did their best and were very helpful," according to The Points Guy.

"We know pets are important members of the family and apologize for the delayed shipment of a dog, which is in the hands of its owner, after it was routed through incorrect connecting points on its way to Boise," Delta said in a statement to Business Insider. "We have fully refunded the shipping costs and have initiated an immediate review procedure to understand what happened."

The incident follows three dog-related mishaps this month by United Airlines, in which one died in an overhead bin and two were flown to incorrect destinations.