Battery dead after returning from 8 day trip; how best to proceed?

Have you checked the 12v auxiliary battery? They're not very hearty & you're on borrowed time once they're 5 years old or more. Leave the radio & /or interior lights on too long while car is in aux mode will easily - mortally wound the little guy
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let triple a come out and test the 12v battery. if it's dead, (and it probably is) i wouldn't bother having them tow it unless you can find no other way to install a new one.
if you let them jump start it, keep your eye on them and make sure that connect positive to positive, and negative to negative at both ends. don't be afraid to scream if you're seeing a potential mistake, it can get expensive.
i had triple a jump mine. guy was great, knew his stuff and i was on my way.

it's not too hard to install one yourself, if you want to give it a go.

 

That's a guy with good advice

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see my edit ^^^

 

Okay, did you leave electrical stuff on in the car for a while? Even if relatively new, that could still do it.

 

50/50 chance ~
If that battery was changed at 60k it only has 2K miles on it & should still be under warranty.

 

Do you have an AGM battery charger? Or one that will charge 5 or less amps?
Charge it for at least and hour and then give it a try. Or if you're in no hurry, charge it for several hours.
Depending on the charger you have, if you have one, it should go down to 0 when it's charged.
Or if a friend has jumper cables you could have them come and hook it up and let that vehicle charge
the Prius battery for couple of minutes before trying to start it.

 

there's a date code on the top, its also possible they said it was new, but isn't.

 

I hope they can get you going.

 

I'm surprised that the dealer's default response was tow it in.

If the battery is already toast, you can't hurt it more by jump starting the ICE -- assuming as Bisco points out that the AAA guy is not color blind and can see the difference between red and black. And while it is NEVER good to completely deplete a battery, my guess is that one time on a relatively new battery (10K miles suggests not much age on the battery assuming as Bisco points out that it wasn't stale when you bought it) isn't going to turn it into a brick. Towing the car in seems way overboard.

Not to hijack this thread -- but we all know that the 12v battery doesn't have anything to do with powering the starter motor (that's the traction battery's job via the DC to DC converter). Basically, my understanding is that the 12v battery is used for the initial computer startup and electronics. Question: what role, if any, does the 12v battery play after the Prius is ON?

 

Perhaps the battery was depleted by leaving a door or the hatch not fully closed. ?? That would shorten its life but maybe not kill it. A charger might be less costly than a tow.