Runway Runaway: Dog Arriving On Plane Slips Collar, Goes On Weeklong Joy Run At Airport

TAMPA, FL — It’s every pet owner’s worst nightmare. A beloved animal runs off and gets lost in an unfamiliar place.

That’s exactly what happened to Rocky, a Chihuahua mix who arrived at Tampa International Airport on a flight from Puerto Rico on May 6.

When Rocky’s family came to the airport to pick him up, he somehow managed to slip out of his collar as he was being loaded into their car at baggage claim. The family searched around the airport for hours that night, but Rocky was gone.

The next week, a pilot taxiing out for takeoff reported seeing a small dog running around near a wooded area just off the runway. Airport crews who had already been looking for Rocky placed two traps in that area of the airfield, hoping to lure the dog to safety using dog food and a T-shirt with his owner’s scent.

On Thursday, a passenger on a St. Louis-bound Southwest Airlines flight spotted Rocky through her passenger window and alerted the flight crew. She took a picture and even drew a map showing the airport's operations team where to look.

Then, on Friday, a week after Rocky went missing, Tampa International Airport Police Detective Dan Jones was riding around the airfield on an ATV when he spotted what “looked like a rabbit” darting into a wooded area near Runway 19L. He circled around, checking the area, and returned to find a terrified Rocky inside one of the traps.

"He was a little anxious when we when I approached the cage," Jones said. "Obviously, he probably just had a really rough week running around an airport by himself. It's scary for us. I can't imagine what it is for a dog. So, we picked him up right away."

Jones spent the rest of his afternoon comforting Rocky, who had spent an entire week outside, on his own, surviving several storms and other outdoor hazards.

"So there's aircraft, there are vehicles, there are trucks, there are tugs, all kinds of stuff," Jones said. "There are cargo operations going on right across the street from where he was. So this dog is probably one the luckiest dogs I've ever met because his outcome is good and there are a lot of opportunities for that to be a different story."

Rocky's owner, Jedsalie Ortiz, said her son refused to wait another second to retrieve Rocky. Right after they were contacted and told Rocky had been found, they promptly made the two-hour drive from their home in Apopka to pick him up.

They arrived at the airport Friday evening, and Ortiz broke into tears the moment she saw the spunky little dog.

"It has been a tough week. A difficult week. My mind was running all of the time, running through options, praying a lot for him," she said.

"We are grateful for all of you guys that have been involved in his rescue," she told Jones and the other airport employees who gathered to watch the reunion.