Florida Woman Takes Drastic Action When Denied Boarding With Pet
A Florida woman has been nicked by cops after doing something totally mental at an airport.
Alison Lawrence, who's 57, couldn't take her little dog on a plane because she didn't have the right paperwork. But instead of finding another way home for her furry friend, she did something that's left everyone proper shocked.
She took the poor pooch to the ladies' bathroom at Orlando International Airport and drowned it right there in the toilet. Then she just chucked its little body in the bin like it was nothing more than an empty sandwich wrapper.
Airport Staff Made Grim Discovery
It was the cleaning staff who found the dead dog while doing their rounds. Can you imagine going to work and finding that? Absolutely gutting.
One of Lawrence's neighbors told reporters they thought she owned a white poodle. But other sources reckon it was actually a miniature schnauzer. Either way, it was someone's pet that didn't deserve what happened to it.
"Someone that would do such things has got to be disturbed upstairs," the neighbor said. And honestly, who can argue with that?
She Just Got On Her Flight Like Nothing Happened
The maddest part of this whole mental story is that after drowning her dog, Lawrence apparently just carried on and boarded her international flight to Colombia. No big deal, just killed my dog and now I'm off on holiday!
When reporters tried to get the lowdown from Lawrence's sister, she claimed she didn't know anything about what happened. She even said Lawrence doesn't own a mobile phone, which makes you wonder how anyone functions these days.
Cops Weren't Having Any of It
Lawrence might have thought she'd got away with it, but the police weren't messing about. They tracked her down and nicked her in Clermont, slapping her with charges of aggravated animal cruelty.
That's a third-degree felony in Florida, which shows just how serious this is. It's not just being mean to an animal – it's proper criminal behavior.
She spent a few hours banged up in Lake County Jail before getting out on a $5,000 bond. Bet that put a downer on her holiday plans.
New Law Could Make Things Worse For Animal Abusers
This horrific case has got politicians proper fired up. State Senator Tom Leek had already filed a bill to make punishments for animal cruelty much tougher, and he used this case as a perfect example of why it's needed.
"This is yet another horrible example of why I filed the bill related to animal cruelty, which strengthens criminal penalties for those who do harm to innocent animals," Leek told his mates in the Senate.
The proposed law would create something like a sex offenders register but for people who've been done for animal abuse. This way, pet shops and shelters could check if someone's on the list before letting them adopt or buy an animal.
Could Have Found Another Way
The craziest thing about this whole situation is that there were loads of other options. She could have asked a mate to look after the dog, put it in a kennel, or even found it a new home.
But instead, she chose the most mental option possible – and now she's facing serious charges and a whole load of people thinking she's absolutely off her rocker.
No official word yet on exactly why the dog wasn't allowed on the plane in the first place. Some reports say she was trying to take it to South America but didn't have the right paperwork.
Whatever the reason, everyone can agree that drowning your pet is never the answer. Proper mental behavior that's left everyone shocked.