A woman allegedly drowned her pet dog in a toilet and dumped it in the trash in order to make her flight.
Alison Agatha Lawrence, 57, was trying to board her plane at Orlando International Airport in Florida but did not have the proper paperwork for her pup to travel with her, WFTV reported.
Lawrence is accused of then taking her small white poodle to the bathroom and killing it on December 16. Airport cleaning staff discovered it later, sources told the TV station.
Police issued a warrant for Lawrence’s arrest and deputies took her into custody at her home in Clermont on Tuesday.
Lawrence has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty, which is a third-degree felony. She was booked into jail and hours later posted a $5,000 bond, according to court records.
Shocked neighbors on Wednesday said they would see Lawrence walking her dog, but not recently. They described her as reserved.
‘Someone that would do such things has got to be disturbed upstairs,’ one neighbor told WFTV.
A woman who claimed to be Lawrence’s sister told the news outlet that she did not know where her sibling was and that she did not have a phone. She added that she did not know about allegations against Lawrence.
It was not immediately clear where Lawrence was flying to and when she returned home to Clermont, which is about 35 miles northwest of the Orlando airport.
Airport officials declined to comment due to an ongoing police investigation.
Most US airlines require health certificates and a pet carrier for animals traveling in cabins with their owners, and some charge a fee.
The horrific incident happened about a year-and-a-half after a woman was detained at an Atlanta airport because her tourist visa did not meet requirements and was told she would be reunited with her dog after landing back in the Dominican Republic. Her dog wound up lost and she took great pains to find him, with her lawyer saying that Delta Air Lines’ $1,800 offer in compensation was an insult.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Sir Mark Rowley: It’s time to start using terror tactics on men who beat women
MORE: Trump signs order to shut down Education Department in front of students sitting at desks
MORE: Man charged with murdering two pensioners, 75 and 68, in street attack
