Pittsburgh International Airport Crews Help Injured Service Dog Get Home Safely

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A pet owner is thankful after her injured service dog received some special treatment from employees at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Earlier this month, the COO of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs was in town for an event when her service dog, Huey, hurt his leg and couldn't walk.

She says the staff went above and beyond the call of duty to help Huey get home safe.

"We were at the Pittsburgh airport, and one of our service dogs hit his elbow and then he couldn't walk. I didn't know what to do, so I walked up to some of the EMS guys there and said, 'What do I do?' said COO Mary Jo Brandt.

The workers got Huey some ice and then jumped into action get the airport's head of security.

"They ended up getting us a flatbed, putting a blanket on it, making sure Huey was comfortable along with his handler, so we could get through TSA," said Brandt. "We roll up to TSA and they opened up a whole wing just for us to get through."

After going through the normal security procedures, airport officials took them through back tunnels to get to the plane.

"They rolled us up to the door to get into the plane. They put Huey on this weird stretcher, got him on the plane, moved the person who was in our middle seat," Brandt said. "Huey got settled in and we were great."

After departing Pittsburgh, they had a connecting flight in Atlanta.

Brandt says Delta and the TSA once again helped get Huey on to the next flight, enroute to their final destination in Tampa, Florida.

Once they arrived, Huey was checked out by a vet and made a full recovery.