A woman has been charged with animal abandonment after she allegedly left her two-year-old dog at a Las Vegas airport, police have said.
Officers found the golden doodle/mini poodle tied to a baggage sizer at Harry Reid International Airport after being alerted by other travellers. The animal’s owner was stopped at a departure gate.
The police said the dog was taken in by Animal Protective Services, but as the owner never returned a charity later took custody of the animal.
The charity said it has been inundated with applications to adopt the dog, who authorities have nicknamed him Jet Blue as he was abandoned at the airline’s ticket counter.
Video of the incident appears to show a woman, who has not been named, walking up to the ticket counter with her dog and speaking to airline staff, before walking away leaving the dog on a leash on 2 February.
She was told by airline staff that she did not have the required documents to travel with the animal as a service dog and was subsequently denied a boarding pass, police said.
After leaving the dog, she went to a departure gate which is where officers found her.
“When asked why she abandoned the dog, she stated the airline would not allow her to fly with it and claimed the dog had a tracking device – implying it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and it would return to her,” Las Vegas police said in a statement.
They added that “she became hostile and resisted officers’ attempts to detain her”.
The woman was also charged with resisting arrest, police said.
“We can’t believe we have to say this… but please don’t abandon your dog at the airport – or anywhere else,” police said in the Facebook post.
The golden doodle/mini poodle was placed in Animal Protective Services for 10 days, a mandatory period to allow the owner to retrieve the dog. As the woman never returned the dog was placed in foster care.
The charity, Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas, said it had received “so many applications and inquiries” about Jet Blue. (BBC)