The Loop

Former NBA player has dog named Kobe detained at Australian airport

November 02, 2018

A former NBA player went Down Under to continue his playing career, but he's probably feeling a bit down and out after his best friend wasn't allowed to stay.

In what's being described as a "miscommunication" by Lamar Patterson, his French bulldog named Kobe was detained shortly after the 27-year-old landed at Brisbane Airport. Although Patterson cleared customs, according to the Associated Press, carrying his pet onboard and without a proper import permit violated Australia's strict bio-security laws.

“If this is big news then Australia is an amazing place to live at,” Patterson said at a Friday news conference. “It was on my ticket that I was traveling with a pet, even my return ticket. It was a miscommunication with the airlines.”

Miscommunication or not, sadly, Kobe was quarantined and then sent back home. At least, for now.

Since being drafted out of Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, Patterson has played all over the world, including a couple stints with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. His newest team, the Brisbane Bullets, took the blame for not notifying him about the country's tough quarantine laws, which have made news with the pets of both Johnny Depp and Martina Navratilova in recent years.

Check out this Australian news clip documenting the strange situation in which the reporter manages to work in the phrases "Doghouse" and "Dog days." Good boy!

Woof, that's a long way to travel only to have to turn around. Hopefully, Kobe is at least getting some frequent flyer miles out of this.