A New Jersey man may face charges after he allegedly tied his dog up outside an airport 1,000 miles away from home — and then left her there as he flew back to the East Coast.
The 1-year-old pup, named Allie, was left abandoned at the airport in Des Moines, Iowa, on Dec. 29th. She was tied up out front of the terminal when her owner was told that without a crate, he couldn’t fly her home.
It took just moments for travelers to alert police to Allie’s abandonment, after her owner — identified as Charles Bigsen — decided to catch that flight back to New Jersey without his pet.
Despite the 1,000-mile flight, Bigsen won't be able to escape the long arm of the law. He was returning home just before New Year's after working in Iowa, but will potentially face a dog abandonment charge in the state. There were no signs of abuse, however.
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"I think the previous owner has relinquished all rights of ownership verbally to us," said Joe Stafford of the Animal Rescue League-Iowa, where Allie is now up for adoption. "She really is very loving, sweet caring young dog that exhibited lot of puppy behaviors."
NBC New York was unable to reach Bigsen for comment.
Back in Newark, at the Associated Humane Societies shelter near Newark International Airport, staff said that abandonments in general aren’t that rare.
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"We get dogs tied up, left at parks and we get them constantly. You get four out, you get 10 more in," said Lindsay Papa, the manager of the shelter.
While Allie is now getting plenty of attention and love, especially on social media, there is a measured outrage at the Newark animal shelter that any dog could be abandoned in such a manner.
"You buying a dog, to give it love, care. Just to drop if off — that would be like dropping my kid off," said Associated Humane Societies Newark Supervisor Hakim Green.
Shelters just like the one in Newark have plenty of dogs ready for adoption, but Allie has no such worries now back in Iowa. The Animal Rescue League told NBC New York that one of the travelers involved in the rescue will like be her new owner in a week or so.
