Ways to Fly With Your Dog
As if travelling wasn’t stressful enough, bringing your dog on a flight can bring on a whole new level of complication to your vacation or travel plans. If your dog is NOT A SERVICE DOG, you can either bring your dog into the cabin with you as pet, or check it away in the cargo section. Rules vary from airline to airline, but typically, a dog can only fly in the cabin as a pet if it is small enough to fit in a carrier and be safely stowed under the seat. If your dog is too big, airlines will require you to fly with your dog in the cargo section of the plane.
To Fly or Not to Fly With Your Dog, that is the Question
While no airline will openly admit to this, travelling in cargo is sure to be an unpleasant way to fly with your dog, or even deadly experience. Over the last 10 years, there have been over 250 animal “passengers” that died either during or immediately after airline travel. Another 170 sustained injuries, and 20 were actually lost by airlines. Although it may be tempting to bring your dog with you on vacation, we do not recommend flying cargo unless absolutely necessary.
Emotional Support Dogs vs. Service Dogs
Prior to January 2021, it was commonplace to fly with your dog as an Emotional Support Animal, however, the Air Carrier Act was unfortunately amended and this is no longer permitted. Now, only Service Dogs are permitted to fly in the cabin unrestricted to a carrier. Service Dog Handlers are required to fill out paperwork with their airline in advance of flying in order to provide the airline with the required information.
Remember, Service Dogs are trained to perform a specific task, and know not to bark, or react to external stimuli. Only experienced and properly trained Service Dogs should be considered when it comes to flying on commercial airlines.