A puppy escaped from its crate and ran loose on a taxiway at LaGuardia Airport Wednesday, forcing the Port Authority to shut down the tarmac and delay flights until the pup was corralled and brought back to safety.

The 30-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, named Byrdie, got loose while being loaded into a cage on a Delta flight headed to Memphis at about 10 a.m., authorities said.



It took a little coaxing, but she was rounded up a short while later. Then she, along with her owner and the other passengers on their flight, were en route to Memphis as planned.



The tarmac was closed for about 10 minutes and two or three flights were delayed, authorities said.



Travelers at the airport tweeted about the unusual cause of delays.



"Dog on runway @ laguardia causes mayhem, passengers were not allowed to deplane," tweeted Scott Anderson.



Robert Lund, who was also at the airport, tweeted, "We can't take off because there is apparently a loose dog (!) running around the runway."

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