Airport Employee Canned After Reporting Abused Dog

By Margaret Hartmann | December 6, 2011 | 2:50pm

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Lynn Jones, a baggage handler at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, was fired from her job after she refused to load a severely abused dog onto a plane. Jones says the hunting dog was covered with sores and TSA agents couldn’t get it to stand up to be X-rayed. “Everyone who saw it, the TSA people, the Airport Police officers, the girls at the ticket counter, was concerned,” says Jones. “The dog was so weak and torn up. It didn’t look like it could survive the flight.”

Jones’ supervisor, who clearly never saw that Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial, told her to ignore it and do her job or he’d fire her. She insisted on helping the dog, and finally he sent her to go home. Airport Police intervened and called animal services, which took custody of the dog and nursed it back to health. Legally, officials can’t release details on the case, but they say they were “thoroughly disgusted” by the dog’s condition. Airport Terminal Services, Jones’ former employer, claims she was let go for abandoning her position, but it’s investigating her termination. She says she loved her job, “But 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.” Particularly when you’re in an industry that’s motto is “If you see something, say something.”