A woman was arrested after abandoning her service dog at a Las Vegas airport when she was denied boarding due to incomplete travel documentation.
A woman in the United States was recently arrested after abandoning her service dog at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers responded to a report of a dog that had been “tied to a metal carry-on baggage sizer” and left unattended at an airline ticket counter.
The statement said the woman was required to complete online documentation to travel with the two-year-old male golden doodle. However, the paperwork was not approved, resulting in her being denied a boarding pass.
Police said the woman then chose to leave the dog behind and proceeded through the departure gate without it.
“When asked why she abandoned the dog, she stated that the airline would not allow her to fly with it and claimed the dog had a tracking device — implying that it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and that it would return to her,” the statement read as quoted.
During the arrest, the woman allegedly resisted officers’ attempts to detain her. She was subsequently arrested on charges of animal abandonment and resisting arrest.
Airport staff and police officers temporarily cared for the dog while the woman was being processed.
The dog, later renamed “Jet Blue” after the airline counter where it was abandoned, was placed under the care of Animal Protective Services before being transferred to a Las Vegas animal shelter.
Jet Blue is currently awaiting rehoming.
