Originally Posted by
Tummy
I don't understand the hostility towards in cabin pets or the hostility against bringing pets into "pet friendly" hotels. I've posted about pet friendly hotels in the Hyatt forum and about the fee increase on the CO forum. A lot of the replies I've seen say that the fee is too little, or pets should not be allowed at all. I find a lot of other things more annoying while traveling.
Now, I'm not a "DOG" person, I like to think I'm a normal person who has a dog. I want my dog to go with us on vacation. Why do people have such a problem with that?
I think it comes down to people already hating the flight experience and regarding it as "just one more thing."
A few years ago, we moved cross country and I brought our cat in-cabin for the flight. She was fine... for the first 45 minutes. The other 4 hours, 15 minutes of the flight, she mewed that horrible, pathetic cat cry that displays both her fear and annoyance at the same time. I tried to comfort her, but as pets aren't allowed out of their carriers, there wasn't much I could do. Luckily, there was an empty seat between me and the gentleman on the aisle (I did say it was a few years ago
) and he was very understanding. But I can see how it would be a huge annoyance for someone and I did feel bad.
Then there is always the allergy problem. We have a friend who comes over to visit and no matter how much I dust and vacuum, his eyes are watering and he's sneezing within 10 minutes. I can imagine being anywhere within 5 or 6 rows of a pet on an airplane with the recycled air would be a nightmare for him.
And, finally, I think there may be a bit of one rotten apple spoiling the barrel going on too. A lot of people resent even the possibility that someone won't follow the rules or control their pet in a confined area. I've seen people take pets out of carriers on flights and even saw one woman have to chase down her dog at one point. I'm not sure of pet-friendly hotels' policies toward disruption, and I've never experienced it, but I'm sure anyone who's had to sleep next door to a barking dog probably didn't enjoy the experience.
All that being said, I have to say I think the amount of the fee is grossly out of sync with what it should be. I think the thing I resent the most is that I actually paid $80 for the priveledge of not being allowed my personal item as the pet carrier had to fit under the seat in front of me. I wasn't actually taking any more space or requiring any additional in-flight services, but I had to pay almost a 1/3 (again, few years ago) of a price of the regular fare to fly with that same amount of space.