A worker at New York's LaGuardia Airport tries to coax a puppy back into its cage after it got away on a runway Wednesday morning. (WNBC)
NEW YORK (WNBC) -- A puppy that got free from her crate ran loose on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, forcing the Port Authority to shut down the tarmac and delay flights until the pup was corralled and brought back to safety.
The 30-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, named Byrdie, got loose while being loaded into a cage on a Delta flight headed to Memphis at about 10 a.m., authorities said.
It took a little coaxing, but she was rounded up a short while later. Then she, along with her owner and the other passengers on their flight, were en route to Memphis as planned.
The runway was closed for about 10 minutes during the incident and two or three flights were delayed, authorities said.
Travelers at the airport quickly remarked on the bizarre cause of their delays.
"Dog on runway @ laguardia causes mayhem, passengers were not allowed to deplane," tweeted Scott Anderson.
Robert Lund, who was also at the airport, tweeted, "We can't take off because there is apparently a loose dog (!) running around the runway."
(WNBC New York)