Las Vegas airport dog abandoned at JetBlue counter adopted by rescue officer

A goldendoodle found tied to a carry-on baggage sizer at the JetBlue counter inside Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport has been adopted by the same police officer who helped rescue it, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) carried by Fox News.

The dog—nicknamed “Jet Blue”—was discovered on Feb. 2 after airport staff reported an animal left tethered to the metal sizing frame. LVMPD released body-camera footage showing a woman approaching the counter with the dog, then walking away and leaving it behind. Police say airline staff denied her boarding because she had not completed the required online forms to travel with the animal as a service dog. She allegedly proceeded toward her gate without the dog and later told officers she was “trying to re-book” her flight, implying the dog would return because it had a tracking device.

Authorities arrested the woman on charges including animal abandonment and resisting arrest, LVMPD said. After a mandatory 10-day hold period passed without the owner reclaiming the animal, Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas took custody. The rescue group reported heavy interest from prospective adopters, and the dog’s “demand” rose the moment the story went viral.

LVMPD says Officer Skeeter Black and his family had already been working with the rescue to adopt a goldendoodle since September 2025 and had been approved months earlier. The rescue ultimately placed “Jet Blue” with Black’s family.

The episode shows how welfare can work when institutions fail at the edge cases. Airports and airlines are built around compliance checklists—forms, categories, and liability boundaries—not around solving the real-world problem in front of them. The airline’s incentive is to avoid regulatory and insurance exposure; the airport’s incentive is to keep the terminal moving; the police are incentivised to enforce basic order; and the rescue is incentivised to place the animal safely while managing reputational risk.

What closes the loop is a private actor taking on the full cost and responsibility: housing, veterinary care, training, and the ongoing risk of a dog with an unknown recent history. Adoption is, at bottom, a transfer of liability and duty of care. A single committed household can do what no interlocking chain of “process owners” can: make the dog someone’s problem in the best possible sense.

LVMPD’s social-media post thanked the community for support and wished the dog “bon voyage” into its new home. The most effective safety net here was not the system’s paperwork but that one officer was willing to internalise the consequences.