As a dog lover, I can’t help but find this to be very cute, though admittedly it’s a bit controversial…
In this post:
Traveler finds “hack” to avoid putting dog in carrier on plane
A self-proclaimed “dog content creator” on Instagram posted a video a couple of days ago, which has since gone viral, and has been viewed millions of times.
In the video, he can be seen flying United first class, with his dog in his lap. For what it’s worth, his dog, Piper, is 19 years old, and is blind and deaf. As a dog lover, huge credit to this guy in general, as he loves helping dogs, fosters them, etc. Anyway, I digress…
He can be seen cuddling with his dog and feeding him a goldfish snack, and the flight attendant takes drink orders. He orders a Diet Coke for himself, and a water for his dog. After taking the order, the flight attendant politely reminds him “your pet needs to be in its carrier at all times.” He responds by asking “the whole time?” The flight attendant responds “the whole time.”
The dog apparently doesn’t like being in the carrier, so he says “this is going to get ugly.” The video then moves on to what he claims is the second flight, where he writes “this is the second flight, and I came up with a dog travel hack.” The dog can be seen in what almost looks like a baby carrier, strapped to his chest, with a hat over his head.
Now, I’m not sure to what extent this was for social media rather than “real” (in terms of whether there were actually two separate flights, or whether he just filmed all of this on the same flight). Either way, you can see the video for yourself below.
As you’d expect, the internet is divided on this…
There are varying opinions regarding the “stunt” this guy pulled off. On the one hand, the policy is clear — if you have an in-cabin pet (and not a service animal), they need to be in the carrier for the entire flight. The flight attendant did nothing wrong here — he was simply enforcing the company’s policy.
At the same time, most dog lovers find this to be adorable, and see nothing wrong with what the guy did. As a dog lover, I absolutely fall in that camp, while of course acknowledging that it violates the rules.
This guy seems like a great “dog dad,” and it doesn’t look like Piper was bothering anyone. Then again, there are all kinds of dog parents with very poorly behaved four-legged friends, who also think their dogs are perfect little angels.
I’ve long thought that there need to be more humane ways to travel with pets. Admittedly traveling in a carrier in the cabin is actually one of the more humane ways to travel, as my biggest issue is with putting dogs in the cargo hold (since dogs of a certain size can’t travel as pets in the cabin).
What also makes this kind of silly is that if this guy had simply claimed his dog was a service animal (as all too many people do — not that I’m condoning it), he could’ve kept the dog in his lap the whole flight, and also wouldn’t have had to pay the fee for an in-cabin pet.
Bottom line
A traveler flew United first class with his adorable senior dog, and had him in his lap. The flight attendant told him he needed to place the dog in the carrier (fair enough), so he did that. However, on the next flight, he decided to try a new method, and placed the dog in a carrier around his chest, using a baseball cap to cover his head.
As someone who loves dogs, it put a smile on my face to see this senior dog living his best life with his favorite human. That’s not to say I agree with breaking the rules, but it still brought me joy.
What do you make of this United first class dog situation?
This is a great example of life not being black and white. And those who thinks most problems (social or political) should think on this scenario and others like it. This is why managing people is hard and rules can't apply to 100% of situations. I am completely conflicted on this. I know what my heart wants to say vs what my brain wants.
Falsely claiming a pet is a service animal on a flight should be a federal offense with prison and/or large fines. $10,000 or 6 months in prison is about right.
Great example of hyperbole! Let’s see…failing to report as income that $20 you found on the sidewalk should be an summary execution, you know, ‘frontier justice.’ Or, how about, 1 million years dungeon!
What happens in case an emergency situation on landing like overrunning a runway. Can the pet be a hindrance in the evacuation of the aircraft. If so, I don’t care how cute it looks, It needs to be inside the carrier. You cannot jeopardize the safety of the people on board.
Ah, rollover, like a dog, or like DL4819. I’d rather the dog be in the passenger cabin than the baggage compartment, that’s for sure.
Animals and children has nothing to do in first class.
Nah, I'd take dogs and children over folks who think like you do, any day.
Find me the people who think it's OK to flaunt FAA policy on pets because they're heckin' cute pupperinos. and I'll tell you who they voted for.
This has nothing to do with partisanship, or who anyone voted for.
(And, if you drive, you likely go over the speed limit, so looky here, you flaunt our laws, too!)
So, I'm pretty sure I know who you voted for, based on your silly suggestion.
Not a very good comparison. Guy with dog was wrong. Should be kicked off plane.
It's apt. Speeding kills.
And, I think we know who you voted for, too.
This is not about the dog or dog lovers. This is about him posting this video and everyone is shitting on the flight attendant instead of the owner who is breaking not only the airline's policy, but the FAAs too. He's openly bragging about not following those rules and not following the flight attendants instruction, and quite frankly it pisses me off.
This is what bothers me the most. It's not that he's getting away with it and moving on. It's that he's posting it and after going viral there's countless morons out there with aggressive dogs who think "why can't my precious Rambo fly like that too? He's special to ME. Ima do that next week".
No, nearly all dog owners (pets and service animals) take traveling with those animals quite seriously. I have not had issues with 'bad' dogs on flights. Yet, I've witnessed a few 'bad' passengers, over the years, which, if I had to guess, you'd fit that category...
This old dude is looking for social media attention. It's sad someone that age feels the need to be validated on line like a 20 year old would want to be.
Hi, George Nathan, good to see you, sir.
I agree with Kira. This really pisses me off. The entitlement this dude feels is sicking. And others who want to skirt the rules because they think the rules don't apply to them.
Sorry, but rules are rules for a reason and the dog being adorable isn't an excuse. Where do you draw the line? Have we not seen enough dog biting incidents on planes? A dog's an animal and they can't think like a human. They can be fine at one moment and then the next feel threatened by a flight attendant or another passenger, they can get stressed out just by flying, or simply not feel...
Sorry, but rules are rules for a reason and the dog being adorable isn't an excuse. Where do you draw the line? Have we not seen enough dog biting incidents on planes? A dog's an animal and they can't think like a human. They can be fine at one moment and then the next feel threatened by a flight attendant or another passenger, they can get stressed out just by flying, or simply not feel well and bite someone. Technicalities and "carrier" semantics aside, I think any reasonable person understands how this rule works. This viral "hack" is only going to lead to one thing: People who aren't as smart as this guy with less behaved dogs trying the same stunt, and innocent passengers are going to get hurt. At the very least there will be some flight diversions and fights between those dog owners and passengers who aren't going to put up with people getting cute with this nonsense.
Cool story, bro.
Give me a break. Dogs need to remain the carriers. Follow the rules!
Ah, 'dogs on a plane,' a classic in the rotation of articles on sites like this. And, here, I thought it was only Gary Leff that would dish-out these stories... OMAAT, got us covered! Niccce.
And yet here you are. Again.
Yup. How 'Helpful' of you.
Dude you don't have to be here. Go get a job.
Same to you. Wait, is this 'your' job?
"Piper, is 19 years old, and is blind and deaf."
OK I get it. I'm team Piper.
Poor Piper.
Piper needs his service human or emotional support human.
But seriously Piper needs to respect the rule.
This idiot needs to stay inside his cage at Piper's feet the entire flight while Piper is sitting in his seat.
Piper can put a leash and let this human idiot crawl around after landing but not in flight.
The passenger should have put the dog in the carrier, per the regulation. If he refused, they should have kicked him and the dog off the plane. In fact, they should consider banning him from the airline if he makes a stink. The passengers around him have rights too.
I am so tired of people with fake "service dogs" or other reasons to bring animals into public spaces where they are prohibited. I see this...
The passenger should have put the dog in the carrier, per the regulation. If he refused, they should have kicked him and the dog off the plane. In fact, they should consider banning him from the airline if he makes a stink. The passengers around him have rights too.
I am so tired of people with fake "service dogs" or other reasons to bring animals into public spaces where they are prohibited. I see this in my local grocery store. The store manager is instructed that if they say it's a service dog, don't question it. BS.
The rules exist for the safety of crew and passengers.
Another rule is that you're supposed to have your seatbelt on at all times, even when the seatbelt sign is off, for your own safety. Do I have to bring up the speed limit example yet again?
No 1990 (guessing you were born that year as you're not that wise). Seatbelt on is a recommendation, unless light on, then its a rule. Guy with dog is an idiot. You're being one with your examples. If I don't wear a seatbelt, I get hurt. The dog shouldn't be on the plane.
Unlike you, I don't have to repeat myself on here... apparently, age has not made you any wiser. Laws, rules, norms, or mere suggestions, etc., are human constructs. It all comes down to enforcement; sometimes we rule with an iron fist, other times, nearly all the cars on the highway are going 5 mph over the speed limit. *gasp* So far, the only consequence with this story is that we're talking about it. Aww.
No 1990 (guessing you were born that year as you're not that wise). Seatbelt on is a recommendation, unless light on, then its a rule. Guy with dog is an idiot. You're being one with your examples. If I don't wear a seatbelt, I get hurt. The dog shouldn't be on the plane.
Ah, fine, the second time you said it was slightly better, no?
Agreed
Blind, deaf, decrepit, and nineteen... It's not for the dog's benefit that he's being foced to live like this.
It's not animal abuse if Piper is cute even if you exploit Piper for the free contents.
It's not even child labor if parents abuse the heck out of their children for content, most of not all are without the kid's consent. It's called parenting.
What'r you talking about... that dog's living its best life... probably has spent more time up-front than you have. Bah!
Probably best for Piper's health that he stays with his person rather than in a crate down below or in a dog boarding kennel. And if nothing else, this guy seems to take better care of his dog than Hasan Piker.
Oh, so you're with PETA now? I'm assuming (because you apparently don't like Mr. Piker) that's 'people eating tasty animals' and not People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Hmm. Yeah, just keep blaming 'leftists' for all your problems...
Speaking of dogs, how's Winston? It's been a minute since you've talked about him and I hope he's doing alright!