Elderly Dog Dies After Playing Matchmaker for Mom and Pilot (Exclusive) [Video]

If Cupid was a dog, it would be Nelly.

TikToker Ari Pendleton, 29, had been living in Amsterdam with her dogs and her partner for six years when their relationship ended late last year. But there was one major obstacle involved with getting back home to Redding, California: her dog Nelly, who had been a part of her family since she was a teenager.

The border collie, who was 15 at the time, had developed epilepsy in recent years and had recently been diagnosed with a mild heart murmur. Pendleton tells PEOPLE she couldn’t even consider putting the ailing pup in the cargo hold of an airplane.

Although her vet believed Nelly would do just fine flying in the cabin with Pendleton and her other dog Loki, Pendleton says she was unable to find a single airline that would allow a dog of Nelly’s size to travel in the cabin on an international flight. 

Pendleton quickly realized …