A Florida woman was arrested after police said she drowned her dog in an Orlando airport bathroom so she could board a plane.
Alison Lawrence, 57, was arrested Tuesday following the incident that happened late last year at Orlando International Airport.
Lawrence had arrived at the airport on Dec. 16 for a flight with her dog, Tywinn, according to an Orlando Police arrest affidavit obtained by NBC affiliate WESH.
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Surveillance cameras at the airport showed Lawrence arriving with the dog, listed as a 9-year-old miniature schnauzer.
But Lawrence didn’t have the right paperwork to have the dog board the plane and was told she couldn’t fly with Tywinn, the affidavit said.
That’s when Lawrence made her way to an airport bathroom, where a worker spotted her sitting on the bathroom floor of a stall cleaning up a large amount of water and of food, the affidavit said.
The employee left and returned to remove a trash bag, and inside was the dog’s body and accessories, including a collar with a dog tag, the affidavit said.
Lawrence’s name and contact information were on the dog tag, and animal services responded and helped identify the dog using its chip, the affidavit said.
It was later determined that Tywinn’s death was from drowning.
Lawrence “is believed to have taken extreme and tragic action by killing the dog,” the affidavit said.
Lawrence was arrested in Lake County on Tuesday and faces an aggravated animal cruelty charge.
