FIRST OFF . . .

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is barking back at Delta Air Lines for removing her from a jetliner because she refused to keep her two dogs in their cages. The actress has filed a $10-million suit against the airline alleging that she “was not treated in a first-class manner” by the “servants and employees” of Delta. “They started it,” Gabor attorney Bernard Cohen said of Delta. “She’s not going to retreat. She’s on the offensive.” Gabor’s attorneys filed suit in Palm Beach County, Fla., where the actress lives. Gabor, 69, was escorted off a Delta plane at the Atlanta airport Jan. 6 when she insisted that her two Shih Tzu dogs should be allowed to ride in the passenger compartment instead of in their cages. When Delta employees repeatedly asked the actress to put the dogs in their carriers, the airline said she “insulted the Atlanta agents with vulgarities” and used words that were “less than ladylike.” Police officers were called onto the airliner to escort Gabor and her two pets off the plane. Delta spokeswoman Jackie Pate said the airline found the suit “quite interesting but totally unwarranted.” The suit also accuses Delta spokesman William Berry of defaming Gabor when he described the incident to the news media.