OLATHE, Kan. — There are lots of reunions happening in airport terminals this time of year, including for a 14-year-old, waiting for someone special from thousands of miles away.
When that Delta plane pulls in, Crista Banks comes walking off. But it’s not Banks that Abby Mason is truly waiting for. Rather, it’s what’s in Crista’s bag. Addison, a dachshund, greets his owner with wet kisses.
“I don’t know what I would do without her,”said Abby Mason, the dog’s owner.
Abby hasn’t seen her seven-year-old dog since the summer. She said relatives took Addison to Florida and through circumstances which aren’t clear, was found wandering the Tampa streets as a stray. All the while, Christmas was quickly approaching for Abby in kansas.
“I found out she was missing and I asked for her this year,” said Mason.
Through luck and technology, the Hillsborough Animal Services agency was able to grant that wish. Staff scanned a implanted microchip, and found out Addision belonged to Abby and they needed to get her back home in time for Christmas.
That’s where Banks comes in.
“My meet up group says I am Santa, but instead of a sleigh I have Delta,” said Crista Banks, who helped reunite the pair.
Banks is a member of a dog group who heard about the story. She decided to use her sky miles to get her and Addison a flight. She said the Delta representative upgraded them to first-class.
Banks spent just a few hours in Kansas City. She hopped on a flight here back to Florida around 6 p.m., thankful for a microchip and the spirit of giving for this special reunion.
