A prize-winning show dog reportedly went missing before a flight in Atlanta
- A prize-winning show dog has been lost at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since Saturday, ABC News reports.
- The dog was missing from her crate when it was loaded onto a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight to Amsterdam on Saturday.
- A Hartsfield-Jackson representative told ABC News that the airport's airfield and the wooded area near it cover around 4,600 acres, but the representative said he is "optimistic" Gale will be found.
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
A prize-winning show dog has been lost at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since Saturday, ABC News reports.
The dog, a pure-bred American Staffordshire Terrier named Gale, was reportedly booked for a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight to Amsterdam on Saturday with her handlers. But Gale was not in her crate when it was loaded onto the aircraft, according to ABC News.
Read more: A dog died in the cargo hold of an Air France-KLM flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles
The handlers were told of Gale's disappearance and contacted her owners, who became worried, one of the owners, Floris Van Essen, told ABC News.
"Me and my wife completely panicked," Van Essen said. "We were out of our minds. You can imagine it's horrific to hear that a dog is gone and nobody knows where she is."
Airport staff and authorities have reportedly been looking for Gale since Saturday. They last saw her early Monday morning, according to ABC News. A Hartsfield-Jackson representative told ABC News that the airport's airfield and the wooded area near it cover around 4,600 acres, but the representative said he is "optimistic" Gale will be found.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.