A Florida woman has been arrested months after allegedly drowning her dog inside a bathroom at Orlando International Airport in December 2024.
Alison Agatha Lawrence, 57, was taken into custody on Tuesday, March 18, and charged with aggravated animal abuse, a third-degree felony, according to an arrest record obtained by PEOPLE.
Incident at Orlando International Airport
Authorities say the horrifying incident unfolded on December 16, 2024, when airport employees discovered a dead dog inside a women’s restroom at the airport.
A spokesperson for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) told WESH that Lawrence drowned her pet in a toilet before proceeding toward the security checkpoint.
Reports indicate that Lawrence was attempting to board a flight but was denied because she lacked the necessary paperwork to bring her dog on the plane.
Rather than making alternate arrangements for the animal, investigators say she took it into a restroom and drowned it.
"Obviously, we were shocked when we heard a woman had effectively drowned her companion animal all because she couldn’t get on a plane," Bryan Wilson, an animal activist with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, told ClickOrlando. "This is not a bottle of water or an oversized bottle of shampoo."
Arrest and Charges
Lawrence was not immediately apprehended after the incident.
Instead, law enforcement conducted an investigation, ultimately issuing a warrant for her arrest. Nearly three months later, she was located and taken into custody in Lake County on March 18.
Her neighbors told ClickOrlando: “I kept looking out, wondering what was going on. Then [the authorities] left, then they came back. He said he heard a commotion going on outside. That must have been when they arrested her.”
The same neighbor added: "About a week or two ago, [my husband] said, ‘I don’t know why we haven’t seen the lady with the little white dog lately.’ And then we hear this sad story."
Jail records indicate she was booked and later released the same day after posting a $5,000 bond.
The Orlando Police Department has not publicly commented on the case, and representatives from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority have also not responded to requests for further details.
State Sen. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach has responded to the incident by using the case as an example of why he introduced Senate Bill 502 -- aimed at strengthening penalties for animal cruelty cases.
“This is yet another horrible example of why I filed Senate Bill 502,” Leek said. “It is my commitment to have this good bill pass.”
The GOAA spokesperson urged travelers with pets to check TSA guidelines to ensure they have the proper documentation before arriving at the airport.