Lynn Jones from Lockwood, Nevada, claims she was fired as a baggage handler at Reno-Tahoe International Airport last month after she refused to load an emaciated hunting dog on a plane.
Lynn Jones said her supervisor told her to load the dog lying in a pet carrier because the animal’s paperwork was in order and its condition wasn’t her concern.
The woman, an employee of contractor Airport Terminal Services at the time, told the Reno Gazette-Journal that she couldn’t put the dog on the plane for shipment to Texas because its paws were bloody and its body was covered with sores.
Lynn Jones said: “Everybody who saw it, the TSA people, the airport police officers, the girls at the ticket counter, was concerned.
“The dog was so weak and torn up. It didn’t look like it could survive the flight. I was crying. I kept saying that dog could not be put on a plane.”
Lynn Jones said airport police phoned Washoe County Regional Animal Services, which took custody of the dog.
The animal is owned by a hunter who has it shipped to places he hunts, according to authorities. It was taken back to Texas after being nursed back to health.
Lynn Jones said she was fired on the spot on November 15, adding: “[My supervisor] kept yelling, <<That’s it, you’re done, you are out of here, go home>>.”
Officials at St Louis-based Airport Terminal Services, didn’t return phone calls.
Krys Bart, CEO of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, said she was proud of how airport police intervened.
“In all my years here, this is the first time I’m thoroughly disgusted over what I understand to be the situation this animal was put in.
“They [officers] had an affirmative responsibility to deal with this, and that’s what they did.”
Krys Bart said she was out of town when the incident occurred, but determined later that the dog had been abused prior to arriving at the airport.
County animal services officials declined to comment on the incident, citing a new state law that keeps details of animal abuse cases secret.
Lynn Jones said her job loss has been a hardship, but she has no regrets. She held the job for more than five years.
Lynn Jones said: “I just couldn’t turn my back on that dog. My supervisor said it wasn’t my concern, but animal abuse is everyone’s concern who sees it.”
This woman is a Hero!! This airline disgusts me. This supervisor is the scum of the earth and should be fired!!!! This loser that owns the dog should be hunted down and put in jail. What kind of loser would treat his animal this way? People that hurt animals and children are weak individuals and they deserve no respect. We need to wake up and have severe punishment for all those who hurt animals and children!! Thank you Lynn Jones! You are a person who should be rewarded!! Who is the airline? I want to give them a piece of my mind. You should be ashamed!
Hero, through and through.