You’re at the airport with your toddler and the ticketing agent says you haven’t properly filled out all the online paperwork to board with a young child. A perfectly reasonable response would be to leave your child alone in the airport while you proceed to the boarding area… said no one ever in all of parenthood. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened to one innocent fur baby (and what are dogs if not permanent toddlers?) at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on February 2. The dog was an adorable golden doodle/mini poodle mix estimated to be two years old, and police came to his aid shortly after he was abandoned at the ticket counter. His owner was arrested and faces charges of animal abandonment and resisting arrest, while the dog wound up in a local rescue center (after the owner declined to collect him from Animal Protective Services). But this tail is wagging and looking up now! The pup, since renamed JetBlue after the airline area he was found in, was adopted by one of the police officers who originally rescued him!

Asked why she left the dog, the owner told police officers that Jet Blue would not allow her to fly with the pet, which she claimed had a tracking device — “implying it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and it would return to her,” the LVMPD said. She later became “hostile,” police said.

The owner was arrested and booked for animal abandonment, as well as resisting arrest, according to the LVMPD.

Meanwhile, the dog — who has since been named JetBlue — entered Animal Protective Services’ custody and, after 10 days without a peep from his owner, was transferred to Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas, a local nonprofit organization.

After his story went viral, JetBlue was met with an “outpouring of love,” the rescue said in an update on Facebook. “This sweet boy is incredible. Truly incredible,” the rescue wrote. “And after everything he’s been through, the thought of him ever experiencing abandonment again has us on very high alert. We will be extremely intentional in choosing his forever family. He deserves stability. Security. Commitment. A lifetime promise.”

And there are plenty of homes to choose from. The pup has received more than 2,400 adoption applications, the rescue told FOX5 Vegas — though he is going home with one of the police officers who responded to the airport.

The officer — who already had a pre-approved application and completed home check with the rescue — will reunite with JetBlue and bring the dog home to his family on Saturday, Feb. 21, FOX5 Vegas reported.

Meanwhile, Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas is urging those who applied to adopt JetBlue from around the world — there were applicants from London, the Virgin Islands and more — to give another dog a forever home, according to the outlet. And for local applicants, there are 40 other dogs currently in the nonprofit’s care.

“There is only one JetBlue,” the rescue told FOX5 Vegas. “But there are so many others still in need.”

[From People]

And that, my friends, is what they call KISMET. The very police officer who helped JetBlue out of a tight spot was part of a family already trying to adopt a dog — and not just any rescue, but specifically a goldendoodle! For one fleeting second I questioned if this policeman, Officer Black, had somehow cheated or jumped the line. But the Black Family was already in the shelter’s system, and ultimately I love for JetBlue that he’s going to a new home with a familiar, friendly face. While it’s super sweet that JetBlue commanded international interest, I think it was the right call to pair him with a local family. This floof has earned a break from air travel! Plus he’ll always have the bragging rights of earning not only 2,400+ applications, but also 10,000+ emails, according to Retriever Rescue of Las Vegas. I mean, just look at the punim on that kid. HOW could someone leave that good boy to fend for himself in the jumbo-sized petri dish environment that is all airports?

JetBlue was indeed picked up by his new pack on Saturday to start his new life, and he sure looks like he fits right in. Big paws up to JetBlue-the-dog for landing on his feet, and to JetBlue-the-airline for covering the adoption costs and donating $6,000 to Retriever Rescue. As the shelter said, there may be only one JetBlue, but so many more pups need forever homes. And I bet some of them are named Spirit, United, or Lufthansa.

photos credit: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department/Facebook