The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has revealed that it arrested a lone female traveler at Harry Reid International Airport after she allegedly abandoned her two-year-old golden doodle at the check-in counter when she learned she needed paperwork to travel with the dog as a service animal.
The incident occurred back on February 2, 2026, although the LVMD is only now revealing details of the arrest after releasing police bodycam footage of the woman’s arrest.
According to law enforcement, the woman had turned up at the JetBlue at Las Vegas Airport’s Terminal 3 for a late-night departure with her puppy in tow.
The woman had apparently intended to travel with her puppy as a service animal when the check-in staff discovered that she had not completed the required online documentation and refused to issue a boarding pass.
At that point, the woman allegedly tied the dog to a metal post close to the check-in counter and proceeded through TSA security to the departure gate.
🐾 Abandoned at the Airport… but Not Forgotten
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) February 18, 2026
We can’t believe we have to say this… but please don’t abandon your dog at the airport — or anywhere else.
On February 2, 2026, at approximately 11:39 p.m., LVMPD officers assigned to Harry Reid International Airport responded to… pic.twitter.com/vZd6TMSaEF
Police were called by JetBlue staff at around 11:39 pm and stopped the woman at the gate. In the bodycam footage released by the LVMD, the woman claimed that she had only gone through the TSA security checkpoint to the gate so that she could arrange a rebooking.
The woman also claimed that her puppy was fitted with a tracking device, “implying it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and it would return to her.”
As the police escorted the woman back through the security checkpoint to the check-in area, she allegedly became “hostile” and resisted attempts by the responding officers to detain her.
The woman was subsequently arrested for animal abandonment and resisting arrest.
The puppy was taken into the temporary care of Las Vegas Animal Protective Services, but when she failed to collect the dog after the mandatory 10-day hold period passed, a local animal charity stepped in.
The pup has now been affectionately renamed Jet Blue and is currently in foster care while a loving permanent owner is found.
Like many U.S. carriers, JetBlue requires passengers to declare a service animal at least 48 hours prior to departure and complete an online form that certifies that the animal is trained.
While trained service animals are allowed on board for free, JetBlue also permits small dogs to be carried in the cabin, but for an additional fee of $150 per animal.
Pets in the cabin must, however, also be transported in a suitable pet carrier that can safely fit underneath the seat in front.
In December 2022, it was revealed that a puppy who had been abandoned by a passenger at San Francisco International Airport had found their new ‘forever home’ after a United Airlines Captain worked with a local charity to adopt the dog.
Named Polaris after United’s flagship Business Class cabin, the puppy arrived in the United States from an international destination, but their owner abandoned the dog at the airport before they reached the immigration desk.
At this point, workers from United stepped in to care for the puppy and made sure that all the necessary paperwork was completed to allow the dog to legally enter the United States.
