At this point I would really think twice before transporting my dogs by air.

— Kenn

By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.

Atlanta, GA. — An 8-year-old German Shepherd that escaped her carrier on a Delta Air Lines flight at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport three days before Christmas has been found dead by a highway crew.

The dog, named Nala, was being transported by Delta from San Diego to Germany when it escaped its kennel on the tarmac and ran away.

Delta reported that the dog had been hit by a car and found on Saturday along Interstate 75.

Nala’s owner, Alisa Miller, was planning to travel with her two dogs to see her U.S. Army officer husband stationed in Frankfurt.

She shipped the dogs a day prior to her departure and had been told that their transport was going smoothly.

However, when Miller called the next day she was informed that Nala had escaped.

Miller had planned to spend Christmas with her husband and their dogs, but postponed her trip in order to search for their beloved pet. After two fruitless days of searching, Miller left for Germany on December 30.

Initially Delta had offered a $1,000 reward for the return of Nala, and the airline reported sightings of Nala around the airport. The money is now being donated to Atlanta Pet Rescue in Nala’s memory.

Miller says she is devastated by the loss, since the dog was very special to her.

This is the second high-profile dog loss to plague Delta in 2010. In May, a Jack Russell terrier mix named Paco escaped from his crate in Mexico City and was never found.