Allie, the dog abandoned at Des Moines airport, has found a new home, rescuers say

Allie, the dog abandoned at Des Moines International Airport, has been adopted by a family who saw her at the airport the day she was left tied up outside, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa announced Thursday.

The ARL said the family that on Wednesday adopted 1-year-old Allie ― the name staffers gave her after the group took custody of her Dec. 29 ― said she was "settling in very well" at her new home.

Described by the ARL as "incredibly sweet," Allie was left tethered outside the airport terminal after her owner, a New Jersey man, was turned away from a flight because he didn't have a kennel for her. Identified in a Des Moines police complaint as Charles Bigsen, 24, of Newark, he later returned to the gate without the dog and boarded the flight.

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The police complaint said Allie would have died had it not been for an airport employee who found her. She had been fastened to a post with a short leash, it said, "with no access to food, water or shelter."

The complaint said Bigsen "during a subsequent conversation ... advised investigators he provided no provisions for the dog and did not make arrangements for the dog to be retrieved. Additionally, he said he had no intentions to reclaim the dog."

"A witness (airport employee) covered the dog with a blanket and remained with the dog until police arrived," the complaint added.

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The ARL said Bigsen surrendered custody of the dog the organization.

The police complaint accompanied a warrant charging Bigsen with animal neglect and care and treatment of animals, a misdemeanor. A Des Moines police spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email about whether Bigsen had been arrested.