schmusimausi73

Hi everyone!

My first post here, so I hope I picked the right forum (if not, my apologies).

My question is thus: last summer I flew FRA - PHL in C and one passenger had a small dog, Yorkie-type, with her. It was in a bag, with the head sticking out. The FA reminded the passenger that the dog had to remain in its bag, at the feet of her seat, during take-off and landing.
But the dog started barking every time the woman lowered the bag to her feet, it obviously wanted to be in her lap. So she put the bag on her lap but the FA approached and told her to put the dog down. As soon as she did that, it started barking again.
So we enjoyed barking until we reached the cruising altitude, and the pax put the dog on her lap again.
During landing, the same situation repeated. This time, the pax ignored the FA and as soon as crew buckled in their jump seats, she lifted the dog out of the bag and held it in her lap.

What would have been the right thing to do - let the dog bark even if it disturbed the other pax, or keep it quiet even if it means breaking the rules? BTW, the dog had no leash attached either, so it could have easily startled and jumped off and started running around the cabin (which would have been hilarious and worth recording on my smart phone LOL).

My only other animal on board experience involved a cat that meowed loudly during the whole 10 hour overnight flight across the Atlantic, but I guess other than sedating the animal, there's nothing anyone can do, right?

Katie

Lost

Let the dog bark on the floor during takeoff and landing. If the dog is in the pax's lap he's more likely to become a missile in the event of a crash.

jennj99738

Any more likely than a lap child? And before anyone gets upset, I'm not comparing dogs to children other than that both can become missiles when sitting in their guardian's lap.

Myself, I would prefer the dog to be quiet and in the owner's lap. If no one said anything, I would have done what this owner did and no one the wiser. I had a Yorkie and would travel with him occasionally. He was always quiet to the point no one knew he was even there. I would unzip his bag once in a while and pet him through the top while he was on the floor. I never took him out of his bag. Maybe that would have quieted the pup.

Lost

You're exactly right. A lap child could cause significant damage if he/she goes hurtling through the cabin as well.

zoomgirl

Was on a United ABQ-DEN flight just a few days ago, and the woman seated in the bulkhead had a dog. The dog sat on her lap during the whole flight including takeoff and landing, and no one seem to care. The dog clearly wasn't a service dog, because there was nothing to distinguish him as one and and also I chatted with her and she told me he was a puppy that was only five months old. He was actually a great dog that didn't bark once the entire flight. New policy?

jennj99738

No new policy. Most likely she identified the dog as a service dog, probably as an emotional support animal. Service dogs do not require a vest or any identification. Per the Air Carrier Access Act, an airline may (not that it does not have to) "require documentation to confirm that a passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), in addition to three other items (i.e., the passenger needs the animal for air travel and/or activity at the passenger’s destination, the individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional and that passenger is under his/her care, the date and type of mental health professional’s license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued)."
http://servicedogcentral.org/content...AQ_5_13_09.pdf

You are going to get hit with a lot of responses from people who believe that this policy/law is abused.

MSPeconomist

Unless there's a leash, dogs in laps can escape from laps. A barking dog is stressed and, for all we know, might be a fear biter. Not good. I'd rather have the dog bark than run around the cabin and bite someone.

BadgerBoi

People are passengers, dogs (other than guide dogs) are freight - put them in the cargo hold.

nd2010

If a dog runs around the cabin and approaches me, he is going to have the in-flight magazine for dinner if he tries to bite. If he bites me, I am doing whatever it takes to subdue him until he is no longer a threat to me. Then the passenger and airline will get sued. No excuse for not keeping your "service animal" on a leash.

Hengilas

Completely asinine logic. Putting any animal into the freight is borderline animal abuse/cruelty.

First and best option would be to not bring it at all - but honestly - I wouldn't mind a $200 fee or something to travel with a pet in a carrier case, and then put it somewhere in the cabin for the duration of the flight.

And what exactly is a child or dog going to do in the event of an accident that an unbuckled human wouldn't? The odds of this happening are so miniscule it's laughable.

BadgerBoi

What utter rubbish - those things are animals, not miniature humans to be treated like royalty. What's cruel is behaving the way that the pet owner did in the OP. Many first-world airlines don't allow pets in the cabin, and that's how it should be.

USHPNWDLUA

Even with a leash, dogs in laps can escape...

Animals they are. But they should still not be placed in the cargo hold. Air pressurization isn't assured and death can result.

duniawala

Dogs, as defined by law, are properties. They should be placed in the overhead bins with a muzzle. Why dogs, pigs, cats are in the main cabin except for service dogs for blind passengers is beyond my comprehension. Anxiety? Don't travel by public planes.

SpewyMcSpew

This lady should be made to sit in the toilet for take off and landing with her rotten mut.

paulwuk

Surely a lap child would be belted in, same as anyone else when the seatbelt sign is on.