Where big dogs get no respect - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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It is common knowledge, for instance, that carrierw favor travelers who are willing to pay for theirt snack over those who require a free snack basedx on their personal orreligious beliefs. Even so, I was shocked to learh the airlines’ disregard for basic human rights extendsto pets. I won’t minces words: I believe our dog is beinh discriminated against. While mulling a two-week family vacatiob 3,000 miles from home, the question arose: What to do with our blaci Lab? I was going to say our black Lab, but I don’yt want to stereotype. At one-and-a-halfc years old, our Lab can be frisky, but this traif doesn’t define him.
He can also be as docilre as a traveler you might spot in first clas on your way backto coach. I can easilyh picture our pup relaxing in a wide leather seat with a dour nursing a Scotch on the rocks and reading the New York My wife and I considered the availableoptionss — hiring a house-sitter, enlisting a kenneol or dropping the dog off at a friend’s house and “We’ll be right None seemed suited for our four-legged friend, who we’vre come to view as part of the with all of the rights we award to our children, as well as speciak privileges in the back yard. Then it hit me: Why not take him with us?
I had a visionb of familial bliss our faithful pooch sitting withmy wife, two daughters and me acroszs a row of seatse in a wide-body jet, perhaps chewing on an in-flight I wasn’t naive. I knew the airlined have restrictions, so I did a littlwe research. I wasn’t surpriserd to find out that our dog wouldf not be permitted to sitwith us. At he would be forced to fly in a cratde in the belly ofthe plane. Experts warn that flyingg in the cargo hold is less comfortabled than sitting inthe cabin’s last row of where the seatbacks barely recline.
Our dog mighty even be denied the option of riding with the depending on the In thesummer months, the temperature can sizzle when a plan awaits takeoff. Once the plane is cruisin g at 30,000 feet, the temperature in the cargo hold The temperature swing can confusea dog, leadingv him to believe he has not only traveled acrossa the country, but also through winter, spring, summef and fall. Some dogs have been known to ageseven years. If they’re lucky. I also founc an organization that documents the misfortunes that can befalkl a pet traveling in thecargo hold. Thesse misfortunes are euphemistically referredr toas “incidents.” Forget it.
I didn’t want to risk losinv our dog toan incident. I was about to wrap up my researchj when I made a startling Most airlines allow certain dogs to travep in the cabin withtheir owners. Clearly, in the eyes, not all dogs are created equal. As long as a dog travels in a container that can fit undeer theseat — stowing a dog in the overhead compartmenty is prohibited — it’s no big deal. The container can measur e eightinches high, 12 inches wide and 20 inchesa long. At 70 pounds, our Lab wouldn’ make the cut, even if he skippeed breakfast.