Stranger's extensive efforts reunite woman with lost dog at Atlanta airport after 22 days

Maybe very few things in the lives of pet parents are more precious than their pets. Paula Rodriguez recently went through one of the biggest heartbreaks a pet parent can receive when she lost her dog. Moreover, since it was in an airport, and she couldn't miss her flight, she had to leave without any concrete search. Thankfully, a volunteer stepped in to help her find Maia, a Chihuahua mix and with her passionate effort, a reunion came into being, per CBS. The search helped find the dog on time, who had lost a lot of weight and needed some serious medical supervision.

Maia managed to survive for 22 days in one of the busiest airports in the world. For three weeks, her pet parent, Paula Rodriguez, was worried out of her mind, trying every way in the book to get her. Finally, an individual stepped up and after a frustrating day in the airport, found Maia, eventually. Rodriguez lost her pet while going to San Francisco. She had to come to Atlanta because her documents were not enough to give her entry on US soil.

Rodriguez was instructed to go to the detention center. Unfortunately, detention centers do not allow pets on their property. Finding no other way, she sought help from Delta Air Lines, with whom she was flying. They agreed and took Maia for an overnight. Mayhem ensued when Maia escaped from the zipped carrier and went onto the active runway. Rodriguez tried to search for her but could not stay for long and had to go away. She began to seek help through Facebook, where she narrated the entire incident and described her pet's appearance. The pet parent emphasized Maia's seashell collar.

Robin Allgood saw the post on the Facebook group called "Atlanta Area Lost and Found Pets" and decided to look into the matter closely. To find the pet, she made signs and posters, which she then circulated all around the airport. Even after going so far, there were no results for two weeks. Allgood herself was not supremely optimistic, "I honestly gave her a 1% chance of still being on that property."

Allgood's hopes came to life when Al Lewis, a FedEx employee, contacted her. He informed her that he spotted Maia at the FedEx facility at the airport. Allgood rushed to the facility, but the employees greeted her inquiries with skepticism. She recalled, "They were looking at me like, 'Really lady?'" and then sent her to Delta. Delta, on the other hand, brushed their hands off, saying the sighting was not in their section. Allgood kept bouncing between the two and, at one point, broke down in tears. Her genuine efforts touched the heart of Norris Champion, a FedEx manager. Champion arranged for a search party.

The search party succeeded in an hour and located Maia. At first, a picture was sent to Allgood for confirmation, who matched it with the reference she had received from Rodriguez. She immediately identified her due to the seashell collar. As Maia came to Allgood, she immediately recognized that the dog had lost a lot of weight. Moreover, she was a bit shaken by being far from her family in an alien location. "She was so panicked. She was trembling so bad and I could literally see her pulse in her neck," Allgood said.

Delta took it upon themselves to fly Rodriguez. The next day, she was reunited with her beloved dog, and nothing felt more right. She, along with her dog, is now in her home in the Dominican Republic, trying to recuperate from everything. Delta on its part has launched an investigation into how the dog got lost. Allgood and the five FedEx workers who helped with the search are being awarded $5,000 from PETA.