Airport staff make heartbreaking discovery after telling woman she can't bring dog on plane

A woman has been detained on suspicion of animal abandonment and resisting arrest after she was told she couldn't bring her adorable pup on a JetBlue flight without proper documentation.

The traveler arrived at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on February 2 with her goldendoodle and attempted to check in some bags for her flight. However, she hadn't completed the relevant documents to bring her pup on as a service dog and was denied a boarding pass.

But that wasn't stopping the woman as she attempted to board her flight and left her dog behind.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement: "On February 2, 2026, at approximately 11:39 p.m., LVMPD officers assigned to Harry Reid International Airport responded to Terminal 3 after receiving reports of a dog that had been tied to a metal carry-on baggage sizer and left behind at the JetBlue ticket counter.

The adorable pup was left behind... (LVMPD)

"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. 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."

A video shared by the Police Department saw the poor pup rather confused after their owner left them tied on a leash to the JetBlue ticket counter.

Officers later caught up with the woman at the gate, and she was in no mood to speak to the police.

"I’m gonna throw my bags down because I’m exhausted," she said, before the police officer stated: "No, what we’re gonna do is walk you back to where your dog’s at and give you a citation, because you left your dog at the ticket counter."

Airport staff were left stunned the owner had left her dog (LVMPD)

The traveler insisted she was trying to rebook her flight, while the officer snapped back: "So you walk down here? To rebook your flight? And left your dog there?"

She then tried to blame airport staff and remarkably suggested it was acceptable to leave the animal behind as it had a tracking device that would have ensured the dog's safe return to her.

The dog, which has since been renamed 'Jet Blue', was taken in by the Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas and they are working hard to ensure the pup is placed in a 'new, loving home'.

The traveler, who has not been identified, has made no attempt to reclaim the goldendoodle.