Allegheny County Police have been inundated with emails and phone calls about adopting the puppy they said a Texas man abandoned last week at Pittsburgh International Airport, a spokesman told TribLive on Wednesday.
Authorities know little beyond the gender — male — of the chocolate Labrador retriever officers found Friday afternoon wandering around the Findlay airport’s public departures curb.
They don’t know his age. They haven’t given him a new name. But police spokesman Jim Madalinsky is sure about one thing.
“I can confirm that the dog is currently in a foster home and not available for adoption at this time,” Madalinsky said.
“We’ve had a lot of people reaching out,” he added.
Police on Tuesday charged Omar Orlando Perez, 42, of Robstown, Texas, with animal cruelty and dog abandonment after he left the animal at the airport about 5 p.m., according to a criminal complaint.
Perez told police the pet, which he received as a Christmas gift, was accompanying him as he drove across the country, authorities said. When Perez lost his trucking job, he booked a ticket home on a Southwest Airlines flight.
He left his four-legged companion, chasing the dog away least three times to keep him from entering the terminal, rather than pay Southwest’s carry-on pet charge, police said. That one-way fee is $125, according to the airline’s website.
People this week flooded TribLive inboxes about the pup’s story.
Joseph Grimes was among the adoption-curious readers who passed through those floodgates. The retired Mt. Lebanon man’s last dog, a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever named Montana, died three weeks ago after a battle with cancer.
Seeing the airport puppy reminded Grimes of adopting a similar-color retriever more than a decade ago.
“My wife, she picked him up and the dog started licking her thumb,” Grimes, 74, said. “And that was it.”
Madalinsky had a message Wednesday for animal lovers interested in adopting the dog from the airport.
“If you feel inspired by this, there are plenty of animals that need a good home,” Madalinsky said. “Please go to a local shelter and adopt one.”
Cindy Cole, who works at Animal Friends in Pittsburgh’s North Hills, couldn’t agree more.
“Like so many in our community, we were deeply saddened to see what happened at Pittsburgh International Airport,” Cole said Wednesday. “Situations like this are a powerful reminder that animals rely on us completely — and deserve thoughtful, long-term commitment.”
Hundreds of dogs, cats, rabbits and other potential pets are waiting for adoption in the area, Cole said.
“Each one has their own personality, their own story and the same capacity for loyalty, companionship and joy as the puppy in the headlines,” she said.
Shelters actually have grown more crowded since the pandemic ended, according to Carla Prince, director of shelter operations at Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh. The group’s shelters typically handle 3,000 to 4,000 adoptions each year.
On Wednesday afternoon, Humane Animal Rescue’s two locations — one on the city’s North Side, one in Homewood — were caring for nearly 140 dogs. In addition to surrendered pets, the nonprofit handles those rescued by Pittsburgh animal control officers through a $2.3 million, three-year contract the city signed in December.
The Humane Animal Rescue’s fee to adopt a puppy is $385, Prince said. That includes spaying or neutering, up-to-date vaccines, and micro-chipping. Adopting an adult dog costs $200; the fee for a “senior,” ages 7 and up, is $130.
“There’s only one of those dogs from the airport but we’ve got tons here — so people should come down and adopt,” Prince said. “We get a variety of sizes and breeds. Sometimes, we get purebreds, too. There really is a dog for everybody.”