(Newser) – A baggage handler at Reno airport says she was fired on the spot after she refused to put an obviously abused dog on a plane. Lynn Jones says the dog, which belonged to a hunter from Texas, was emaciated and covered in sores, but her boss said its paperwork was in order and told her to load it onto the plane. "Everyone who saw it, the TSA people, the airport police officers, the girls at the ticket counter, were concerned," she tells the Reno Gazette-Journal. "The dog was so weak and torn up. It didn't look like it could survive the flight."

Airport police phoned animal control services, which took custody of the dog and provided it with veterinary care. Officials—prevented by state law from releasing the incident report—say they were sickened by the dog's condition and they're proud of how airport police intervened. The dog was shipped back to Texas after being nursed back to health. Jones, who owns three dogs, says she loved her job at the airport but "I just couldn't turn my back on that dog. My supervisor said it wasn't my concern, but animal abuse is everyone's concern who sees it." (Read more animal abuse stories.)

