Sochi Airport forced to apologize after staff were recorded ‘provoking’ and ‘teasing’ Instagram-famous dog

The press service of Sochi Airport has officially apologized after an employee was caught mistreating a dog due to fly as cargo. The pup, a beagle named Harpo, is an Instagram star with over 14,000 followers.

According to Harpo’s owner, Anastasia Lapshina, an iPhone SE was placed in his carrier to record the journey. Writing on Instagram, Lapshina explained how the airport’s workers “started provoking him, teasing him and calling him rude names,” causing the dog to become nervous and start barking.

“If it were not for the camera which we installed inside the box, we would not know what was happening there,” Lapshina wrote, calling for the employee to be fired.

“Dogs are already under stress during a flight, there was no need to receive extra stress from the airport staff,” she explained.

In response, the airport’s administration conducted an investigation into the employee’s behavior and has apologized to the owner.

“All employees of the airport cargo department will be trained with a dog handler on handling and interacting with animals,” the airport said, according to news agency RIA Novosti.

Harpo the Beagle is a minor Instagram celebrity, and is regularly pictured traveling around Russia. His owner created his social media profile when he was just a baby, and she has been uploading photos of the dog for two years. Harpo now has 14,600 followers.

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