A woman was arrested in Las Vegas after allegedly abandoning her 2-year-old goldendoodle at the ticket counter of Harry Reid International Airport when she was informed she couldn’t bring it on her flight without proper service dog documentation.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the incident occurred around midnight on February 2. The traveler arrived at the airport with her excitable dog and tried to check her bags. When staff told her she needed valid service dog papers to board, she tied the dog’s leash to the JetBlue ticket counter and went to the departure gate—even though she had been denied a boarding pass.
Video footage shared by police shows the dog watching in confusion as the woman walked away without looking back. Airport employees quickly stepped in, comforting the pup, who happily licked one worker’s arm while resting on the floor.
Officers eventually located the woman at Gate D1. When confronted, she became combative.
“I’m gonna throw my bags down because I’m exhausted,” she complained.
“No, what we’re gonna do is walk you back to where your dog’s at and give you a citation,” an officer explained.
The woman insisted she was just trying to rebook her flight and attempted to blame airport staff, claiming she was told leaving the dog was acceptable because it had a tracking device. Officers rejected this excuse, and she resisted being escorted back through security. She was arrested on charges of animal abandonment and resisting arrest, according to LVMPD.
The dog was held by Animal Protective Services for 10 days before being taken in by Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas. The owner did not attempt to reclaim the pup. Renamed “Jet Blue” in recognition of its airport ordeal, the dog is expected to be placed in a loving new home soon, the police said.