Dog owners are usually asked to pick up after their dog ... but authorities in Las Vegas just wanted a woman to pick up her actual dog and take it with her -- and they arrested her when she allegedly wouldn't.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared video of officers confronting an irresponsible dog owner at her flight departure gate ... telling her they're going to walk her back to where she left her dog tied up at the ticket counter.

The clip then cuts to security camera footage which shows this individual arriving with her dog and stopping to chat with the woman at the checked bag desk.

After a short conversation, this woman appears to tie her dog to an object and take off ... bidding bon voyage to her pooch.

The friendly little pup doesn't freak out ... in fact, it looks quite content in the clip -- wagging its tail and looking around at all the airport staff before the camera cuts off.

LVMPD officials say the woman didn't complete the proper documentation to fly with her dog as a service animal. Cops claim they later asked the woman why she would just leave her pet, and they say the woman said her dog had a tracking device ... which indicated to them that she felt "it was acceptable to leave the animal behind and it would return to her."

This woman was arrested for animal abandonment and resisting arrest. Authorities held on to the dog -- a 2-year-old golden doodle/mini poodle -- for 10 days, but the owner never came back for it. A local shelter stepped in to find the dog, renamed Jet Blue, a forever home.

All dogs go to Heaven ... we doubt owners who abandon them are so lucky.