A dog that was allegedly abandoned by its owner at an airport in Des Moines, Iowa, has been welcomed into a new home.
On December 29, the one-year-old pup was set to fly with its owner, Charles Bisgen, 24, back to his home in New Jersey from Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register. However, Bigsen was told he could not bring the dog on the plane because he did not have a kennel.
Bigsen then allegedly left the dog tied up outside and abandoned the pup in the freezing temperatures before heading back home to Newark Airport, according to a criminal complaint against him. He was noted to have no intention of reclaiming the dog.
Shortly after the owner left, the tied-up dog was spotted by several concerned travelers, who subsequently called authorities. One of the witnesses told investigators that an airport employee covered the dog with a blanket and remained with it until police arrived.
ARL-Iowa was then called in to bring the poor pup back to its shelter, where they started calling the dog Allie.
“I think the previous owner has relinquished all rights of ownership verbally to us,” Joe Stafford of ARL-Iowa told NBC New York.
“[Allie] really is very loving, sweet caring young dog that exhibited lot of puppy behaviors,” Stafford added.
Thankfully, it did not take long for Allie to find a new home as she has now been adopted by a loving family, according to the ARL-Iowa. The family was among the witnesses who saw Allie outside in the cold at the airport.
“Her new family has already reached out to us with an update, saying Allie is settling in very well,” the ARL- Iowa stated in a Facebook post.
Despite living in New Jersey, Bigsen is currently facing a misdemeanor charge of animal neglect in Iowa, according to the criminal complaint.
According to ARL, Allie is one of over 10,000 pets the organization helped last year.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.