Puppy abandoned at airport adopted by United pilot

At San Francisco International Airport, United’s customer service department handles the usual passenger woes, such as missed flights, lost luggage and personal items left in the seat-back pocket.

But in late August, the team had to tackle an issue of even greater magnitude: An international passenger had arrived from China at SFO without the proper paperwork and his travel companion had abandoned him at customs, travelling onward to New York.

Last week, United finally resolved the case, closing the file on Polaris the puppy. The 6-month-old German shepherd mix left the airport for the final time with a new owner: A United pilot.

“I only hope that we can do half as good a job of taking care of him as the United staff did,” said William Dale, the United pilot who adopted the dog with his family. “More than one employee said to me, ‘You better take good care of him … or else.’ There was even a wag of a finger.”

The puppy’s ordeal started at international arrivals, when a passenger on a United flight from China did not present the correct documentation for importing an animal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which administers the rules for animals coming from high-risk countries for rabies (China is on the list), would not allow the dog to enter the United States.