<<Monday morning, February 27, 2006
Hello to everyone,
I just returned home to California from New York last night. I am sorry that I am not able to respond individually to the hundreds of kind and concerned e-mails, so I am sending this detailed summary of what has been happening for the last 19 days.
On Thursday, Feb. 9th Bo Bengtson and I left for New York for the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Jil Walton and her friends and family flew in with "Vivi" (Ch. Bohem C¹est La Vie, whom Jil and I co-own) on Friday. I got Vivi and her crate from Jil on Monday evening so I could bathe and prepare her for showing on Tuesday Morning. She spent the night sleeping in either the crate or our beds. She did well at the show and received one of the two Awards of Merit offered in Whippets. Jil took her back to her hotel that evening.
For her flight home, Jil and her sister Jamie got to JFK International Airport on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and checked their baggage and Vivi in at about 9:45 AM at Delta Airlines. At about 11:40 AM when Jil was on the plane watching Vivi¹s crate being loaded, she noticed one of the baggage handlers peering into the crate. Jil assumed he was talking to Vivi. A few minutes later one of the flight attendants told Jil there was no dog in the crate. Jil assumed Vivi was loose in the baggage area below and went to get her (she¹s very good about coming when called). When she got down there she found out that Vivi had escaped earlier and that she had already been followed by car for about two miles along an airport perimeter fence (the driver said she was running at 25 miles per hour). She then slipped through some coiled razor-wire fencing at the end of the runway that leads into marshland and then Jamaica Bay. That was the last she had been seen.
We do not know how she got out of her crate. The spring-loaded latch appears broken. It could have been dropped, other baggage could have slammed into it, or ?????
Port Authority Police (Port Authority is the organization the "owns" and manages the entire airport, as well as ports, etc.) drove Jil and Jamie (and later Bo when he arrived) all around the airport and especially the area where Vivi was last seen so they could call and look for her. At Jil¹s insistence helicopters were sent up trying to locate her from above.
Bo and I were on our way to the airport when we received a call from friends in California that they had heard a Whippet was loose at the airport. We called Jil and found out that is was Vivi. We met Jil and Jamie there about 5:00 PM. We also called local New York friends Honi and Carol Reisman since they know so much more than any of us about the "lay of the land" in that area.
We immediately started working with the local Animal Control and Port Authority. Everyone was extremely helpful. Jil, Jamie, Bo and I set up camp at the Airport Holiday Inn and Honi and Carol Reisman (who live about 30 minutes away), along with Fran Reisman (who was in from California), were there also helping to contact various locals who could help in the search and help us get our bearings in New York.
We went out that night with Animal Control searching the outside perimeter of the airport fencing and at once realized what an immense facility JFK Airport is. Some facts about the airport:
1. The airport covers 5,000 acres. If it were laid on top of Manhattan, it would cover from 42nd street to the Battery and from river to river.
2. There is 26 miles of perimeter fencing. Imagine a point 26 miles from your house, filled with buildings, and searching that entire distance.
3. There are literally hundreds of buildings, most of them huge for dealing with airplanes. The easiest way to describe it is to imagine your local mall with a Home Depot, Costco and other stores, but at least a hundred times larger.
4. The airport is incredibly secure. Other than a few small breaks in the fence in one area along Rockaway Blvd., there are almost no areas a dog could get out without going through a busy terminal or cargo building front office.
5. Almost all the buildings on the grounds, even the vacant ones, are heated to prevent water pipes from breaking. Most of these buildings have some doors open and inside provide literally thousands of places a dog could hide, be warm and be unseen.
From that first night of Feb. 15 the news media was all over this story. We encouraged this because we feel the more people that know about this, the more chance we¹ll have of someone reporting a sighting to us. We were completely surprised by the depth of interest in this story and the way it kept going for over a week. Even today I¹m getting calls from major media outlets for updates. When I asked some of the reporters why they were covering this one lost dog in such depth, they told me they had received more calls and e-mails about this story than most others and had to follow it for their readers and viewers.
Many, many people volunteered to help canvass the local neighborhoods off airport grounds and we are greatly indebted to Bonnie Folz for organizing the hundreds of people who wanted to get involved. They passed out "lost dog" flyers to local residents and posted them in area businesses, as well as actively searching for Vivi.
We were able to get access to the highly restricted areas of the airport managed and patrolled by Port Authority. Because access was limited to one or two people at a time, except for specially arranged searches, we couldn¹t all participate in these "on-grounds" searches and patrols. Being that Bo had others dogs and Jil had horses at home in California, it was decided after three days I would stay for the on-airport patrols.
The Reismans generously offered for me to stay at their house. Honi Reisman joined me and we went out every day from Feb. 16 through Feb. 21. On Wednesday Feb. 22, Jil flew back to New York and she and I were out on the airport grounds searching Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Jil flew home Friday afternoon and Bo flew back to NY Friday night. He and I went out Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 & 26. During this whole time, Honi, Carol, Bonnie and many, many others were searching outside the airport.
Also during this time we had a team of search dogs trained to locate other animals come up for one day from Washington DC. Westminster Kennel Club generously offered to cover these costs. We obviously were not able to take them everywhere in the airport, but took them to the most likely areas and they did pick up some scent in a couple of buildings at one end of the airport. Nothing conclusive came from this, however.
PSYCHICS and ANIMAL COMMUNICATORS
Within a couple of days of Vivi being lost, we started receiving calls from many people who are either psychics or animal communicators, or have used these people and wanted us to contact them as they had information on Vivi¹s whereabouts. We have so far been contacted by over 30 of these people and appreciate their efforts and concern.
Because we have so much information coming from them, sometimes contradictory, it is not possible to follow every lead. However, several have given us similar descriptions of areas where Vivi might be and other information that overlaps and these are the ones we are acting on. One of the most well known of all, Bea Lydecker, flew to New York last Wednesday and helped us for three days. She consulted with other communicators on the phone. They were all getting the same basic information, but we are hampered by the size of the airport and the vast number of buildings.
The things almost all the psychics had in common was that Vivi is alive, not injured and not particularly hungry, thirsty or cold. Most said she is still on airport grounds and could see human activity but is hiding so that people can not see her. The only problem with this is that there are probably over a hundred buildings that fit their descriptions, thousands of possible hiding places, and literally millions of sqaure feet of building space.
The areas of the airport where the psychics think she is coincideds with where the search dogs found some scent. They are also the areas a dog would most likely gravitate to (less noise and activity, easy access to brush and mowed fields, and easy access to heated buildings).
What we think were dog droppings were found near one building and what we think were Vivi¹s foot prints were found in another area, and both were within a mile or so of the buildings we think are most likely her hiding places.
Believe me, we have tried everything we can on airport grounds under Port Authority security escort. They have been as helpful and supportive as possible, but since 9/11 security is so tight that it is simply impossible to let other people, dogs, horses, pet detectives, etc. in the restricted areas where we think she is.
We have set up five live-animal traps in the areas we think she most likely is, but so far have only caught two feral cats and a raccoon.
The Port Authority has a wildlife biologist on staff as well as several assistants. Wild animals are a huge danger to aircraft, so these people work at this airport 24/7. They patrol the perimeter fence several times a day and are now checking our traps several times a day.
The only sighting of Vivi since she ran through the fence that first day was again that same night about 12 hours later. An "Sky Chef" employee saw her about midnight on airport grounds near the buildings we think most likely for her to hide in. He did not contact us about this until Saturday, Feb. 25, as he did not know about the search for her until then. This was great news as it confirmed she did not get stuck out in the marshland and drown at high tide and shows the importance of the volunteers handing out flyers and putting up posters.
There are LOTS of rabbits on the airport grounds and Vivi frequently catches, kills and eats rabbits and squirrels on Jil¹s farm. She is quite likely hunting at dawn and dusk and hiding out in a building during the day and at night.
One of the most encouraging things we hear from people, especially Sighthound owners, is that they have or know of dogs that have been lost for weeks or even months that have survived and eventually been reunited with their owners. Once a dog goes into "survival mode," they make hiding from people a top priority.
We hope Vivi will let herself be seen soon so that we get another sighting. As soon as we do, we¹ll be back on a plane to New York to continue our search and bring her home (in the cabin of the plane not in a crate!).
We are in the process of setting up a "Find Vivi" fund to help with the quickly mounting expenses, and any excess money will be donated to a shelter that deals with stry dogs in New York are well as to volunteer organizations that help locate lost pets. I will e-mail this information to you when it is available.
Daily updates are posted at: www.awc2006.com under Vivi updates.
Thanks again for your concern and best wishes,
Paul Lepiane>>
Comments (14)
Let me be the first to say thank you Paul. It really means a lot to us to hear from you, and to have a better understanding of everything that went on and all you have been going through. I met you this past Saturday, I was one of the volunteer searchers. I plan to go again and help this coming Saturday as well and my check is in the mail to help out with the funding for Vivi. I cannot even begin to imagine what you are feeling but please know how many of us are doing everything we can to get Vivi back home where she belongs. I have been crying so much since I first heard about poor Vivi and just want to contribute in every way possible to help bring her to safety. You, Jil,Bo and Vivi are in my prayers and thank you again for sharing your message with us.
*Keeping hope & faith alive here in NYC*
Renee
(We love you Vivi!)
find my post under sat serch details...i am responding to some of the advocates....brian
sorry i posted it under bo comments.....brian
Just want to say Thank you Denise for all of your Vivi Updates.Thank you Bo for your daily updates(inspite of being exhusted you were kind enough to post every night on the AWC) I was thrilled to read Paul Lepiane's Email.Also Thank you Renee and Brian for all your info and all you are doing. And to all the positive posters for the kind words,hope and good stories. I as most of you have been reading this daily.I am upset when I hear critisism towards the owners as I believe it is unfair to do so.But I also understand how worked up we all are.After reading Paul's detailed account on Vivi I truly feel she is out there alive and well and will be found .
I have learned the following:
Airlines are not required to report pet mishaps. How many of the 170 000 passenger baggage complaints logged each month by the Us Dept of Transportation involves pet cargo??? Check this site out:
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/index.htm
The march report should have Vivi in it... BUT?
Also in the jan report " lost cat" Delta blames the crate...
Thank you Paul for the update. It still sounds promising that she could be coming home soon. I agree that she would travel in the cabin and not cargo space. My heart goes out to all of you and my prayers are multiple times a day for Vivi. My check is in the mail. Please don't give up. Keep your spirits up. Positive thoughts bring positive results.
This whole Vivi thing makes me so sad. My heart goes out to Paul, Bo and Jil, and of course, Vivi. After I read the Feb 28 update from Bo, (specifically #5 emphasizing that no one is benefiting from the funds to be raised except for Vivi and other lost dogs) I got to thinking that the owners are caught in a catch 22 it seems to me. If it weren't for the media attention, they would probably have less hope of finding Vivi, however, because of the media attention, they are open to more criticism/suspicion from people than they would be otherwise, and that just adds salt to the wound. Luckily there doesn't seem to be too much of this - but any suspicion of them just makes their ordeal more painful. I have nothing but respect for all involved in this search and I can't imagine the pain the owners are going through with the loss of their beloved pet, not to mention the stress from being, and staying, in the public eye, which of course is needed for the better chance of finding Vivi. While I'm sure they are eternally grateful for the attention, I'm sure it's exhausting at the same time. Pulling for Vivi in Wisconsin.
please go to awc.2006.com.....it will explain alot of your queations
i have a new post under bo
Here's another Delta story:
Permission to cross post granted by author.
From: Marcia Deugan
ziyadahreg@YAHOO.COM
Subject: Major Airline screw up
Last Friday had to be one of the very most frustrating days of my entire life. Never have I encountered ,all at once, such a group of un-co-operative uncaring people all working at the same company. The company
is Delta Airlines.
Looking back, I should have realized that something
was different. I have shipped puppies with Delta for over 30 years. This time, when I called the Pets First desk to make the reservation, at about 6 am one morning I got a recording telling me that it wasclosed and that I should call back during office
hours. The recording did not say what those office
hours were.
When I finally did get through to them later in the
day after being on hold "waiting for the next
available representative" for 25 minutes I made a
reservation for last Friday, Feb. 3, 2006 for a puppy to go "Pets First" from Ft. Myers FL to Bloomington,Illinois, with a change of planes in Atlanta. I specifically asked them to check that the planes were big enough for a 200 crate, and was assured that both were full size Delta jets.
I went up to the airport cargo on Thurs. Feb. 2 to do the paper work , surrender the health certificates, etc. since the flight was at 6:55 on Friday morning and this would simplify . On Friday morning, I took puppy , crate, newspaper, towel, stuffed toy, baby blanket, an unopened bottle of water , dry food in a zip lock bag, and plastic dishes attached to the door of the shipping crate. Every inch of the crate and all items were examined, approved , and placed in or
taped to the crate. This was at 5:30 in the morning.
My name and number, owner to be's name and number ,
were on at least 3 pieces of paperwork attached to the crate. My name, address, and telephone number are on the crate side in black laundry marker.
Puppy was to arrive in Bloomington at 11:30. At that time the new owner called me. The puppy was not on the plane. She was frantic. No one had called either of us. The airline did not know where he was. An hour later he was located in Atlanta. They informed us that he was not on the plane because they had used a different plane that did not allow dogs. So theyjust let him sit there. THEY NEVER CALLED TO LET US KNOW!.
No other flight with appropriate plane was scheduled
that day. It was then arranged that he would fly (at 2:40 pm) to Peoria, Illinois and arrive there at 3:20 (change of time zones) . OK - things happen. Not happy, but puppy would get there and new owner would drive to get him in Peoria. Then 3:20 arrived, so did the plane, and THE PUPPY WAS NOT ON THE PLANE. THEY NEVER CALLED EITHER ONE OF US TO SAY THAT HE WOULD NOT BE ON THE PLANE. I had called the Pet First Desk and been on hold for 60 minutes one time before giving up and 50 minutes another to make sure he was on the plane and never contacted a real person. The tracking site on the Delta web site would not show anything. A real person told us later that they DO NOT TRACK DOG
SHIPMENTS, ONLY PLANES.
It took two hours for them to find him, still at the
Atlanta airport. I was FRANTIC - I am 10 hours away
from Atlanta. The new owner (at the airport in
Peoria) was frantic. Once they located him ( I am
going," has he been out to potty, has he got water,
was he offered food?" - oh yes, he is fine, right here in front of me wagging tail).
Arrangements made to put him on a plane at 8:40 pm.
Got through to the pet desk at 9:00 - NO - THE PUPPY
WAS NOT ON THAT FLIGHT - HE WAS STILL IN ATLANTA.
Told to call a "logistics" number I found that he had not been put on that flight because it was carrying dry ice. BUT THEY NEVER CALLED EITHER OF US TO TELL US-------------WHY WHY WHY------------silence. Now, they told me, he would have to go to a kennel as they couldn't keep him at the airport for over four hours.
I am to the screaming stage - he has already BEEN at
the D------ airport for over 12 hours. Is the puppy OK , is he dehydrated? Has he been allowed out of the crate, does he have water? Puppy, they said , is fine. Will go to a kennel. I will be billed. They have no idea when puppy will fly to Illinois. ALSO TELL ME NOW THAT HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN SHIPPED OUT WITHOUT A FAX FROM ME CHANGING HIS DESTINATION. NEVER EVER MENTIONED THIS BEFORE ALL DAY LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I tell them to hold - using cell phone I call Kitty
Cahoon who is at dog shows in Atlanta. Kitty
immediately agrees to go and get the puppy - I convey this to the idiot that I am talking to who then transfers me to another idiot who says that they won't release the puppy to anyone without a FAX. I stop trying to reason with them and scream that it is now 11:30 at night and I don't have a bloody FAX machine. No budging them. A rule. A contract that I signed that morning giving them jurisdiction over the puppy. I tell them that the contract has already been broken by THEM - that it was to deliver the puppy to Bloomington 12 hours earlier. I finally told them I would find a FAX machine if I had to drive 100 miles to do that - to not send the dog to a kennel. I am terrified that I will never see this puppy alive again. Finally my daughter gets hold of someone in the newpaper office that she knows and a FAX is sent.
Kitty picks up the puppy. He is, thank God, alive.
He is also dehydrated, un- watered, un- fed and in a kennel with urine and stool, dirty paper, bedding, and toys. To her it seems he has never been taken out or fed or watered. In that shipping crate for 18 hours. They go back to the show grounds to her RV and I sink to the floor crying and threatening to sue Delta for the inhumane and callous way they have managed to lose this pup and cause trauma to us all.
This is Sunday. Puppy was not in good enough shape to try to fly him yesterday. Fluids have helped and he is now back to acting good. Delta wants to "start over" to get him to Peoria. They also want me to pay another $200 to do so. Guess what - I have called my credit card company and that charge already there will be disputed until the day I die. I WILL NEVER USE DELTA TO SHIP A PUPPY AGAIN. I will tell everyone I know of the horrible way we were treated. I will contact every Delta official that I can get a name/address for. Any other suggestions? I WILL FOLLOW THROUGH.
All through this whole thing not one employee of Delta ever apologised for the problems. Not once did anyone, except for one ticket agent in Bloomington, even express sympathy. I told the last person I talked to at the Atlanta airport that if that puppy died that "heads would roll". Well, the puppy has survived. Kitty has him safe with her. We don't know at this time if he will continue his trip or what. Right now we are just glad that he is alive. But heads are still going to roll.
Please feel free to post to any and all lists and
concerned people so they can't do this to anyone else.
Marcia Deugan
ZIYADAH Sussex Spaniels
I thought you might find this interesting - THE CEO AT DELTA AIRLINES IS GERALD GRINSTEIN. SUGGEST ANYONE CALLING THE 404-715-2600 (EXECUTIVE HQS. FOR DELTA), ASK FOR MR. GRINSTEIN'S OFFICE. I SPOKE WITH THEM ABOUT 8 DAYS AGO AND WENT THROUGH 4 LAYERS OF SECRETARIES BEFORE I GOT TO ONE OF GRINSTEIN'S "EXECUTIVE ASST" (MARK WEAVER).
MR. WEAVER DID CALL ME BACK AND WAS DEFINITELY DEFENSIVE, BUT I MADE MY POINT AND ASKED FOR THEIR HELP. (BLAMED IT ALL ON THE CRATE VIVI WAS IN WHICH WAS NOT THEIRS!) TOLD THEM EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS A SCREW-UP, IT'S WHAT THEY DO TO FIX IT THAT MATTERS...THEY COULD HAVE COME OF THIS LOOKING LIKE HEROES, BUT I THINK THEY TOOK THE OTHER ROAD.
MAYBE IT IS TIME TO RATTLE THEIR CAGE AGAIN!
IRENE WILSON
Posted by: Irene Wilson | March 02, 2006 at 03:26 PM
GOOD NEWS FIRST...CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW BABY DAUGHTER, BRIAN! MANY YEARS FROM NOW, YOU CAN TELL HER ABOUT OUR SEARCH FOR VIVI AND HOW MANY PEOPLE TRULY CARED.
I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM EVERYONE...DIDN'T KNOW THAT EVERY BREED OF DOG IS SO DIFFERENT FROM ANOTHER. PERHAPS 'CAUSE THE 3 DOGS I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE WERE ALL FOUND ON THE STREET. THOUGH ALL OF THEM WERE FOUND STARVING,2 WERE HURT AND THEY HAD BEEN SURVIVING ON THEIR OWN, IN ALL CASES THEY DID RELUCTANTLY APPROACH US AND IN 2 CASES JUMPED INTO OUR CAR WITH LITTLE PROMPTING. WE (AND THEY) WERE LUCKY THAT THEY HAD NOT LOST ALL FAITH IN HUMANS!
THEY WERE ACTUALLY ALL PURE BRED DOGS...A COCKER SPANIEL, GERMAN SHEPHERD AND A NORWEGIAN ELK HOUND.
MAYBE I STILL HAVE AN UNREALISTIC PICTURE IN MY HEART OF "LASSIE"...I HAVE TO STAY POSITIVE.
I DO PRAY THAT VIVI WILL RESPOND TO HER FAMILY'S CALL...SOMEHOW I THINK SHE'S REAL BUSY SURVIVING, BUT IN MY HEART I DO FEEL SHE VERY MUCH REMEMBERS THEM AND IS WAITING.
PRAY FOR HER EVERYONE.
IRENE WILSON
Posted by: Irene Wilson | March 02, 2006 at 03:45 PM
I wonder what excuse Mr.Weaver has for the eight week old puppy shipped from JFK to Montana on 2/27/05, who did not arrive as scheduled. This puppy was found at another airport in the cargo area still in its crate 24 hrs. later. I guess that too was the owner's fault. I think the next time I fly, any other air carrier, but Delta will be my choice.
Posted by: Meri-Lou Mahoney | March 02, 2006 at 04:32 PM
Correction to the above comment. The puppy was shipped on 2/27/06, via Delta airlines from JFK to Montana and did not reach it's destination on schdule. Only after the owners spent many frustrating hrs. (24 hrs.) of fighting with Delta airlines, did Delta acknowledge that the puppy had been found at an airport in a diffenrent state. The puppy was located in a cargo area still in it's origianl crate. After this terrible ordeal, Delta offered the shipper compensation in the amount of $176.00, the original amount of their shipment cost. The owner's of the puppy, thank goodness, received their puppy alive but, not even an apology from Delta.
Posted by: Meri-Lou Mahoney | March 02, 2006 at 08:43 PM
Psychics? I can understand that you guys are desperate to find this one sole dog, but put your faith in real evidence, not contradictory reports with no evidence.
"we have so much information coming from them, sometimes contradictory"
"several have given us similar descriptions of areas where Vivi might be"
". They were all getting the same basic information, but we are hampered by the size of the airport and the vast number of buildings."
"The things almost all the psychics had in common was that Vivi is alive, not injured and not particularly hungry, thirsty or cold."
"The only problem with this is that there are probably over a hundred buildings that fit their descriptions"
"The areas of the airport where the psychics think she is coincideds with where the search dogs found some scent. They are also the areas a dog would most likely gravitate to (less noise and activity, easy access to brush and mowed fields, and easy access to heated buildings)."
Also, keep in mind, how much information could these "psychics" gather or elaborated from the previous posts, other websites or newspaper articles?
All I'm saying is, have the "psychics" or "animal communicators" given you any more reliable information than has already been gathered by reliable means (as opposed to say, one persons unverifiable opinion?).
Reason works! :)
You go, Arlo! Totally agree with everything you said, but I'm sorry to say that people always want to believe ... sad. :(
I remember when the animal communicators had Vivi on a blanket in a heated cargo hanger being fed by a couple illegal workers. Yeah, uh-huh, sure. At that time she was in Flushing.
Of course the "psychic bashers" are out in full force...people, just like there are good doctors and not so good, good lawyers and not so good and some people are violin virtuosos and most others are mediocre--not everyone professing to be a professional psychic or animal communicator is good!!!! Some of us have had experiences with animal communicators that confirm some are very good at what they do. Obviously your rational, logical minds are not capable of thinking outside the box. Obviously your loss. Out of respect for the owners of Vivi, since they have consulted animal communicators, maybe the psychic bashing should be curtailed on this forum ???!