Police seek man for questioning in connection with abandoned dog at Pittsburgh airport

Allegheny County Police are sharing surveillance video in an attempt to identify and track down the man who abandoned a dog this week at Pittsburgh International Airport.

At about 1:15 p.m. Thursday, a traveler at the airport told an Allegheny County Police officer that they saw a dog tied to a pole outside, county police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said.

Officers found the dog, which appeared to be in good condition, tied to a pole in the short-term parking garage, Madalinsky said. The man who abandoned the dog did not leave behind any food or water for the pet.

The dog is believed to be a type of chihuahua mix and was not microchipped, Madalinsky said. Police did not name the dog.

“The dog is safe, taken care of,” Madalinsky said.

The North Hills group Animal Friends now has custody of the dog, Madalinsky said.

Kathleen Beaver, the organization’s president and CEO, told TribLive on Friday that the dog “is being safely housed and cared for” by Animal Friends personnel. A “humane investigations team is working very closely with Allegheny County Police.

“As this is an active case, we are unable to provide any additional information currently,” Beaver said. “The dog is not available for adoption, however, we have many animals seeking a loving home.”

“There is no excuse for leaving your pets behind,” Madalinsky said.

Allegheny County Police are seeking the public’s help identifying a man in a blue jacket and red shoes as part of the investigation.

Photos of the man were posted on the police department’s Facebook page Thursday night.

Police said they believe he was a ticketed passenger that spent time inside the airport before leaving the dog in the short-term parking garage prior to his flight.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the county police tip line 1-833-255-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.

This is the second similar type of incident at the airport over the past few months.

An Armstrong County woman was ordered to stand trial on charges she abandoned her dog at the airport in August.

Allison Lyn Gaiser, 44, of East Franklin, who is representing herself, will be arraigned in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Dec. 1, court records show. She waived a preliminary hearing Oct. 16.

Allegheny County Police said Gaiser abandoned a brown and white male French bulldog near the airport’s short-term parking lot before getting on an Aug. 4 flight to a resort in Mexico.

The dog was found unattended in a stroller at about 5:30 a.m. that day. It wore a dog license and had an identification microchip.

A county police officer found the dog sitting in the stroller outside the moving walkway enclosure next to glass exit doors, according to a criminal complaint. The dog was not restrained. A bag of dog food was found in a bowl under the stroller, but there was no water.

Gaiser faces two counts of neglect of animals, two counts of cruelty to animals and one count of abandoning a dog within the state.