Woman charged after dog allegedly abandoned at Las Vegas airport; adoption applications pour in

Not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, especially when it involves a confused goldendoodle abandoned at an airport.

A 26-year-old woman has been charged after she allegedly left her two-year-old dog at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on Feb 2.

Police officers found the animal tied to a baggage sizer near a ticket counter after being alerted by other travellers, said the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in a Facebook post on Feb 19.

The woman, identified by USA Today as Germiran Bryson, had been denied a boarding pass after failing to complete online documentation to travel with the dog as a service animal.

In a video released by Las Vegas police, she is seen speaking with airport staff at the ticket counter while holding onto her luggage and the dog on a leash.

When she was told that she had not submitted the paperwork, she was refused boarding.

The authorities alleged she then left the dog behind and proceeded through the airport to her departure gate.

CCTV footage shows her walking away from the ticket counter with only her luggage. Moments later, airport employees are seen approaching the dog as it starts wagging its tail.

When officers found her at the boarding gate and asked why she had abandoned the dog, she stated that the airline would not allow her to fly with it. 

She also claimed that she went to the gate to “rebook my flight”, according to bodycam footage released by the police.

“(She) claimed the dog had a tracking device, implying it was acceptable to leave the animal behind, and it would return to her,’ the police added in a Facebook post.

The police said that she became “hostile and resisted officers’ attempts to detain her” as they escorted her back through the security checkpoint. 

Court records show she faces misdemeanor counts of animal abandonment, resisting a public officer, providing false statements to obstruct a public officer and animal abuse, reported USA Today.

“We can’t believe we have to say this... but please don’t abandon your dog at the airport - or anywhere else,” the police said in the Facebook post.

The dog was placed in Animal Protective Services for 10 days to allow its owner to come back for it.

But after Bryson failed to return, charity Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas took the dog in and renamed him Jet Blue, after the airline ticket counter where he was found.

Jet Blue’s story quickly gained attention online, drawing hundreds of adoption applications and inquiries.

Founder Danielle Roth told USA Today on Feb 20 that it has received over 300 applications.

She said Jet Blue knew that he was out of danger when he was picked up by the charity.

“He licked our faces, wagged his tail and jumped up on us,” Ms Roth said. “There was no stress, like he knew he was safe. Like he knew he was never going to be stressed again.”

The rescue said a formal application process is required, as Jet Blue deserves “stability, security, commitment and a lifetime promise”.

“This sweet boy is incredible. 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,” the charity wrote on Facebook on Feb 19.

The group added that Jet Blue’s case has helped raise awareness about rescue efforts, abandonment laws and the reality that dogs are not disposable.

The charity wrote: “He isn’t just a headline. He isn’t just a cute face. He is a living, breathing soul who needs his needs met for the rest of his life.”