A woman was arrested at a Las Vegas airport and booked on two charges after allegedly abandoning her dog at a JetBlue ticket counter.
In footage shared by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the woman, whose face is blurred, is seen conversing with an agent at a ticket counter at Harry Reid International Airport on Feb. 2. She’s then seen taking her bags and walking away, appearing to leave the dog, since confirmed to be a two-year-old male goldendoodle, tied to a baggage sizer.
In the same video, seen below, the woman is seen speaking with law enforcement.
“Airline staff advised the dog’s owner she was required to complete online documentation in order to travel with the animal as a service dog,” a police rep said in a statement shared to social media this week. “When the required paperwork was not completed, the passenger was denied a boarding pass. She then left the dog behind and proceeded through the airport to the departure gate.”
According to police, the woman was later located at Gate D1, at which point she was asked why she allegedly 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,” the rep added. “While escorting her back through the security checkpoint, she became hostile and resisted officers’ attempts to detain her.”
The woman, not named in the initial police statement, was ultimately arrested and booked for animal abandonment and resisting arrest. As for the dog, now named JetBlue as a nod to the incident, Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas—a local nonprofit—has placed the dog in foster care. Per police, the organization took the dog in after the owner failed to retrieve the pet within the mandatory 10-day holding period.
“This sweet boy is incredible,” Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas reps said in their own statement on Thursday (Feb. 19). “Truly incredible. And after everything he’s been through, the thought of him ever experiencing abandonment again has us on very high alert. We will be extremely intentional in choosing his forever family.”
PETA has also addressed the incident.
“Dogs are a lifelong commitment, and anyone who would abandon one in an airport like an oversized bottle of shampoo has no business having an animal and should go to jail,” a PETA spokesperson said in a statement to Complex on Friday (Jan. 20). “The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police were right to make a swift arrest in this case, and PETA hopes that ‘JetBlue,’ who is now safe with rescuers, will land in a loving home soon.”
Complex has reached out to reps for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, JetBlue, Harry Reid International Airport, and Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas for additional comment. This story may be updated.