MONTREAL – A dog named Bruno is back with his owner after an airline failed to unload the animal in Montreal and mistakenly sent it on a plane back to Cuba.

Ottawa journalist Stephen Wicary took to Twitter Sunday morning after his four-year-old Bernese mountain dog did not arrive in Montreal as scheduled on a Cubana Airlines flight from Varadero.

In the hours that followed, Wicary detailed his frantic communication with airport officials, none of whom could immediately locate the dog.

“We feel helpless, powerless and heartbroken. And sickened by the failings in the air transit system that have allowed this to happen,” Wicary tweeted late Sunday morning.

Wicary’s social media posts struck a chord with animal lovers who responded with hundreds of retweets and messages offering support, worrying about Bruno’s welfare, and offering to drive and search airports in person.

Although at one point Wicary said Cuban airport officials believed the dog had been mistakenly sent to Toronto, it turned out he was never unloaded in Montreal and was instead flown back to Cuba.

The story had happy ending, as Wicary tweeted a photo of Bruno after he finally arrived safely at the Montreal airport Sunday afternoon with the caption “#Bruno, back at last.”