Alberta Woman Says WestJet Sent Her Dogs To The Wrong City & Left Them In Crates For 20 Hours

An Alberta woman said she is "disgusted" after her two dogs were sent to the wrong airport and she had to drive a total six hours to go and collect them.

Megan Copeland's dogs – Henry and Willow – had been travelling from Ontario to Edmonton, where she was meant to pick them up, but she was then told by WestJet that the two dogs had landed in Calgary instead.

In a Facebook post, Copeland, who lives in Cold Lake, said she had travelled for over three hours to pick up the dogs from Edmonton Airport when they were due to land at 12:30 p.m.

Copeland claimed that when she arrived, she was told the dogs had been flown into Calgary and they'd be making their way to Edmonton later that day, however, the flight which was meant to land at 4:40 p.m., was delayed with a new arrival time of 5:45 p.m.

"At 6 p.m., we head back to the warehouse and I received a call saying their flight has been delayed again, they're now landing at 10:30 p.m.," she said.

"At this point, I am beyond angry. They've been in their crates since 7 a.m. (Ontario time) without food, water or potty breaks."

With the dog's arrival time getting later and later and with an eight-month-old baby in tow, Copeland decided to get a hotel room in Edmonton while they waited for the dogs to arrive.

But then she received another call to say the flight had been cancelled altogether. Copeland said she was given two options — picking the dogs up from Calgary or spending $600 for them to stay overnight in the warehouse.

With the dogs being in transit for so long, Copeland decided to make the three-hour drive to Calgary where she was reunited with Henry and Willow.

"I am so happy and relieved to know that they are okay and finally with us again, but I am absolutely disgusted knowing that they sat in their crates for 20 hours without food and water, and without being let out to go pee or poop, or to even stretch their legs," she wrote.

"If they were humans, someone would be arrested. Why is it okay to treat them this way because they are dogs?" she added.

Copeland said that she has emailed WestJet to discuss the situation but has yet to hear back and be called for compensation.

In a statement to Narcity, WestJet said this was an "extremely isolated situation that was compounded by weather conditions."

WestJet added that every cargo customer that is travelling with pets has to sign a Shipper's Certificate which says customers are liable for all costs "from planned or unplanned well-being stops, including potential overnight kennelling fees."

They said the dogs were given water while they were waiting.

WestJet encouraged Copeland to reach out if she wants to discuss the experience further.