'No excuse for leaving your pets': Dog left tied to pole at Pittsburgh airport, police say

Police are looking for the airline passenger they believe abandoned a dog at a Pittsburgh airport, leaving the pet tied to a pole.

PITTSBURGH (WTRF) — "There is no excuse for leaving your pets behind."

That's what police said in a news release Thursday after a dog was found abandoned at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Allegheny County police say they were alerted to a dog that was tied to a pole and appeared to be abandoned in the short-term parking garage.

"Officers responded and were able to untie the dog, which fortunately appears to be in good condition," police said in the release.

The dog was not microchipped and police are actively investigating to determine who was responsible for leaving this dog behind.

Police believe the man who had the dog at the airport was a ticketed passenger that spent time inside the airport before leaving the dog in the short-term parking garage prior to his flight.

"This is sickening and happening way too often," one Facebook commenter wrote.

A Pennsylvania woman was charged earlier this year after police say she abandoned her dog at Pittsburgh International Airport Aug. 4 so she could make a flight to a Mexican resort.

Allison Lyn Gaiser, 44, reportedly left her brown-and-white French bulldog in a stroller abandoned in the airport's short-term parking lot after the airline determined that the pup did not qualify as an emotional support animal. Because Gaiser didn't have a kennel, she wasn't allowed to bring the dog on the flight.

Police found the dog about 40 minutes later; it was placed under the care of an animal shelter and was later taken in by foster owners.

Gaiser, of Kittanning, appeared in court in October to face charges of animal cruelty, animal neglect and abandoning a dog within the state, according to CBS News.

Gaiser waived her preliminary hearing and will be formally arraigned Dec. 1, 2023, court records show.