( CNN ) -- It 's one thing to lose your luggage while flying . It 's another when your dog goes missing . Josiah Allen says his dog , Paco , did n't make it home when he flew recently from Mexico to his home in Seaforth , Canada . Delta Air Lines says the dog escaped from a carrier on the tarmac . `` I am hopeful that Delta will be able ... to locate and retrieve Paco and that he can come to my home and be loved and cared for , '' Allen said . A Delta spokeswoman , Susan Elliot , said Paco broke out of a dog carrier at the airport in Mexico City , Mexico , on May 3 . `` Our staff have conducted exhaustive searches to locate the dog , '' she said . They have not found Paco . Delta has offered its `` sincere apologies that we have been unable to recover the dog , '' Elliot said . The airline has compensated Paco 's owner and offered to reimburse all expenses associated with the dog , she said . A Delta representative at the Mexico City airport told Allen that Paco 's dog carrier was too small , Allen said . He said Delta asked him to sign a waiver saying the airline would not be liable for any injuries that Paco might suffer as a result of the carrier 's size . Allen said he signed the waiver because Paco had slept in the crate for three nights with no problems . `` He could both turn around and stand comfortably , '' he said . Yet when his plane landed in Detroit , Michigan , Allen said , the dog was gone . The story of Paco 's disappearance unfolded not long afterward on a blog called The Consumerist , which says it `` empowers consumers by informing and entertaining them about the top consumer issues of the day . '' Elliot said she could n't recall another instance when a dog got lost while its owners were in transit . `` This is extremely rare , '' she said . CNN 's Jamie Guzzardo contributed to this report .
Josiah Allen says his dog , Paco , did n't make it home when he flew recently . Delta Air Lines says the dog escaped from a carrier May 3 at an airport in Mexico City . Delta representative : `` Our staff have conducted exhaustive searches to locate the dog '' and we are confident that they will be found within 24 hours of locating him.