Many passengers, especially those who traveled by air, found the most recent holiday season to be challenging. The biggest travel nightmare of them all belonged to the Chihuahua who turned one last week and was left by her owner at the Des Moines airport.

Despite the horrible circumstances, the poor puppy is already receiving excellent care and will soon begin looking for a new home.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa reports that on December 29, Allie, a 1-year-old puppy, was discovered chained up.

According to reports, the dog’s owner attempted to fly without a kennel for the animal. The owner took the dog out of the airport and came back in by themselves to catch their flight. Then, Allie was found in front of the airport.

Bigsen Charles, the dog’s 24-year-old owner, told Daily Mail that he left the pet behind in order to catch his flight to New Jersey because “I already checked in and didn’t want to miss my flight.” I figured the airline would give the dog a kennel if I bought the ticket. I was unaware that I needed to bring my own.

Charles said he couldn’t find a home for the puppy because “I knew someone would wind up getting her.”

According to Today, Allie’s owner turned her up to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa after a warrant was obtained. Despite everything, the dog is content.

Tom Colvin, CEO of ARL, described the dog as “very loving” and saying that she “enjoyed everyone from the airport personnel who came out, brought her a blanket, sat with her, loved her, and gave her all the attention until our animal services folks came out and took her away.” She is quite pleasant.

Colvin claimed that Allie was fortunate in that the very cold weather from a few days before wasn’t experienced by her because she wasn’t waiting outside for very long.

He also said that Allie’s situation would soon be improving because she would soon be placed for adoption and start looking for a forever family.

“Allie will become eligible for adoption once she has her spay operation, microchip, and any other necessary veterinary care,” the ARL said in a statement to Today.

Investigations into the matter are now ongoing. Animal abandonment is a crime in Iowa that carries a minimum punishment of $105 and a maximum prison term of two years.

We are happy to report that Allie is doing great and cannot wait to be adopted! That someone would leave their dog unattended in this manner is sad.