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The pilot diverted a Tel Aviv-Toronto flight after a heater in the cargo hold malfunctioned and the dog was at risk for freezing.
Simba, a 7-year-old French bulldog, was traveling in the cargo hold on a recent Air Canada flight from Tel Aviv to Toronto when a problem occurred threatening him and him alone. The normally climate-controlled compartment in which Simba was waiting out his journey experienced a sudden drop in temperature that, if left unresolved, might have caused him to freeze to death over the hours-long flight.
Faced with that possibility, the plane’s captain made a compassionate, albeit costly, decision — divert the flight to save the little dog’s life. The plane bound west for Canada instead made an early stop in Frankfurt, Germany, where Simba was placed on another flight to his destination, reports CityNews.
The diversion reportedly cost the company around $10,000 and caused a 75-minute delay, but the price of not stopping would have been so much more costly for Simba’s owner.
“It’s my dog, it’s like my child,” Simba’s owner told the news outlet. “It’s everything to me.”
The well-being of one little dog might not amount to much for some people, especially weighed against the smooth operation of international air travel — but fortunately there are still folks, like this Air Canada pilot, who know all lives are lives worth saving.
Agencies/Canadajournal
