Happy Ending For Vietnamese Rescue Dog Lost For A Week At Paris Airport

One of the worst fears for expats relocating with their beloved dogs is that something will go wrong during flight transfers.

Nowadays, it’s far more common than in the past for relocating expats to bring their dogs with them, but it’s a scary time both for the pets and their owners. One of the most-asked questions of pet transportation companies’ employees concerns transfers between flights, with owners terrified their dogs will be put on the wrong plane or even lost. Almost all dogs reach their destinations safely, but when things do go wrong there’s often help from strangers as well as professionals, as demonstrated in this heart-warming story.

Marlin the dog had been rescued from a Vietnamese dog meat factory by Briton Amelia Clayton, who’d flown to Vietnam to collect him and bring him home. All went well until her stopover in Paris’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle International Airport, when it was found he’d gone missing. Amelia was devastated and desperate to find him, but had very little money left as she’d paid almost all her cash to make certain the little dog’s documentation and immigration papers were in order. She searched and searched wherever she could for days, sleeping in the airport as she couldn’t afford a hotel.

When the news got out, strangers came to offer their help, bringing clean clothes, food and other resources as well as helping with the search and being supportive. For days, Marlin couldn’t be found, but her new owner never gave up. Finally, reports came in on the eighth day that a grey dog had been seen roaming around wooded areas of the airport. Immediately, the airport’s dog handlers drove Amelia to the area, accompanied by Christine Thouret Horvath, the handler who’d been assigned to the case. Once there, Amelia spotted Marlin and crawled through undergrowth to get closer to the scared little dog until she managed to catch her

.Once reunited with her beloved dog, Amelia posted on Facebook, sending her heartfelt thanks to everyone who’d helped her keep going long enough to find Marlin. She and her dog are now awaiting her parents’ arrival from the UK to bring both of them safely back home. In her Facebook post, Amelia said Marlin had eaten his supper and was now asleep, adding they’d both sleep well now they’re back together.