NEW YORK - A dog that won an award this week in the Westminster Kennel Club show escaped from its cage at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday and was believed to be on the loose in the surrounding area.

The dog, a whippet, broke free at about noon, said Tiffany Townsend, a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs area airports.

Port Authority police were working with its owners to search the area where planes arrive and depart, she said.

"They're looking every possible place they can to see if they can locate the dog," Townsend said.

She said she didn't know where the dog's cage had been when it escaped or where its owners had been heading. The airport, in Queens, covers more than 4,900 acres.

Barbara Nyby, a member of the American Whippet Club in California, said the dog was Bohem C'est La Vie. The dog won an award of merit at Westminster, the nation's most prestigious dog show.

The dog's owners were listed as Jil Walton and Paul Lepiane, of Ojai, Calif.

The dog had been booked on a Delta Air Lines Inc. flight. Atlanta-based Delta said it was working with local authorities to retrieve the animal.

More than 2,600 dogs were entered in the show at Madison Square Garden, including 25 whippets, a short-haired athletic dog similar to a greyhound. Best in Show went to Rufus, a colored bull terrier with an egg-shaped head.

How in the world does something like that happen? I've never put a pet on an airplane before, but don't they require you to have some type of lock on the cage door? And if not, why? My hubby said "Why doesn't the owner just try calling the dog?", but having owned a beagle before I know that's not always an option. I swear once that dog got on the scent of another animal there was no way to stop him.

I know what you mean about the beagle. Mine once ran 5 miles from my house because he smelled another animal and then just decided to keep running. I had to get in the car and go chase him down after about a mile cause I knew I would never catch up to him on foot as fast as he was going

Tracking dogs and also sight hounds ~ if they smell or see something, good luck trying to break their attention. However, if you have a Boxer like I do, he'll just ignore you for the sake of ignoring. :grin:

Most of the airports around here have chain link fences around them, except for the gates where you enter and leave. There is always someone staffing the gate too. You would think someone would notice a dog who was obviously well taken care of loose on the grounds.