A puppy that was heartlessly abandoned at an airport has since been adopted by the pilot that found the poor pooch.
One passenger arriving at San Francisco airport from China had brought with them a little pup and did not have the paperwork needed to bring their pet on the next step of their journey to New York.
Polaris the puppy, a six-month-old German shepherd has left the airport after a lengthy legal battle, a United pilot is set to take the pooch home with him.
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William Dale has adopted the pup into his home, following a lengthy ordeal that saw the dog's owner depart without them.
Improper paperwork over the importing of an animal meant that the pup was unable to travel with its original owner, instead left behind as it could have been a rabies risk.
China is on the list of countries unable to bring pups into the United States without correct documentation due to the high risk of rabies that comes from the country.
William, who has adopted the pooch, said: "I only hope that we can do half as good a job of taking care of him as the United staff did.
"More than one employee said to me, 'You better take good care of him… or else'. There was even a wag of a finger."
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Instead of straightening out the paperwork, it appears the previous owner was all too keen to leave the pooch behind, with plans to either have the puppy returned to China or left in San Francisco Airport both considered.
Neither appeared appropriate as it would have led to the pup being "euthanized" according to director of customer service, Vincent Passafiume, WashingtonPost reported.
The director added: "Over 50 employees have visited him. He has become a celebrity at SFO, for sure. I am going to miss the heck out of him."
Pilot William Dale has since spoken of how lucky he feels to have the pup, saying: "I thought his story was incredible, but I honestly didn't think we were going to get lucky."
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