LAS VEGAS – A woman was arrested atHarry Reid International Airportafter abandoning her dog at a ticket counter, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police announced Feb. 18.
LVMPD said in a Facebook post that officersresponded to reports of a dog that had been tied to a metal carry-on baggage sizerand left at the JetBlue counter just after 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 2.
Staff told police that the woman, identified in court records obtained by USA TODAY as Germiran Bryson, was denied a boarding pass when documentation totravel with the dog as a service animalwas not completed, according to the post. She then allegedly left the dog behind and proceeded to her gate.
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Bryson, 26, is seen on bodycam footage released by the department in the post claiming she went to the gate to "rebook my flight." LVMPD said in the post that she told them the dog had a tracking device "implying it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and it would return to her."
Police stated that she "became hostile and resisted officers' attempts to detain her" and was arrested on animal abuse and resisting arrest charges. 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.
Court records did not list an attorney for Bryson. Her next court date is scheduled for March 31. USA TODAY reached out to JetBlue for comment and did not receive a response.
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Authorities said that the dog, a 2- to 3-year-old male Goldendoodle, was taken care of by airport employees and police officers until Clark County Animal Protection Services retrieved the dog.
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After a 10-day hold atThe Animal Foundation shelter, the dog was released toRetriever Rescue of Las Vegasand named "JetBlue."
The rescue's founder, Danielle Roth, told USA TODAY in an interview that it appeared that the dog understood he was out of danger when he was picked up from the shelter.
"He licked our faces, wagged his tail and jumped up on us," 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 added in a statement to USA TODAY that JetBlue "greets everyone with trust and warmth, which is honestly remarkable given what he went through."
Roth said that the rescue has received over 300 applications to adopt JetBlue and that the high visibility of the case requires the volunteer-run organization to be discerning about who eventually takes him home.
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"We need to be sure that he will never, ever, ever go through this again. Never be abandoned again, never feel sadness again." Roth said.
She said that she hopes the case brings attention to the large number of pets being abandoned across the city.
"People are giving up on their pets way too quickly and they're not treating them like they're family," Roth said. "They're your children. It's a lifetime commitment."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Woman charged after allegedly abandoning dog at Las Vegas airport
