This is something you don’t see every day and as a dog lover, it’s a shame. A TikTok user who goes by the handle @gibbon1215 shared a video of him flying across country with his dog named Darwin. The video has since gone viral and has received over 17 million views and 12,000 comments. RELATED: Should Airlines Offer Pet-Free Flights?
@gibbon1215 captioned the video (embedded below): “Who says Great Danes aren’t airplane dogs. Shoutout to @American Airlines for making our move to Brooklyn a piece of cake though! (Yes I bought 3 seats for us on the plane)”
@gibbon1215 Who says Great Danes aren’t airplane dogs. Shoutout to @American Airlines for making our move to Brooklyn a piece of cake though! (Yes I bought 3 seats for us on the plane) #greatdane #dog #gay #fyp #tiktok #newyork #brooklyn #doggo ♬ Funny Background – Stefani
A great majority of the comments were positive. In fact, it’s difficult to find one that’s not except on View From the Wing’s website, which is where I first discovered the video. Lukas, wrote, “I would have been livid to find that monster of a dog even remotely close to me on an airline.”
But the top comments on @gibbon1215’s post were:
TheLastLily07
I would 1000% gladly sit next to your buddy than some of these humans who remove their damn shoes!
Kelly Davis
Better behaved then most adults on the flight ?
Golden Chanterelle
Instantly demanding a refund for my recent flight, which unreasonably lacked a Great Dane
Eleni Garnetti
As a flight attendant … I would do anything for him on my flight
amanda
My flight anxiety would be nonexistent if I got to sit next to this angel
I was curious how @gibbon1215 got a 149lb dog on the plane so I did some digging around, which wasn’t too difficult because the next video on his page explains a lot. It turns out Darwin is a service dog and @gibbon1215’s unfortunately has Crohn’s Disease.
In the follow-up video, he explained this and showed his ostomy pouch, which collects stool. He says, “I have Crohn’s disease, which means I currently live with an ileostomy. Um, what that means is I basically have a little piece of my organ, my small intestine, that actually sits outside of my body.”
“How did I actually get her [Darwin] here? “I looked into a lot of options to try to figure out how I could possibly get her here. I looked into driving her myself, I looked into chartering a plane, I looked into having somebody else drive her, but just none of those options seemed really viable.”
“And when I asked how big was the crate underneath the plane, she ended up being bigger than the largest crate available. So that wasn’t gonna be an Option either. So I just researched, honestly, pet friendly airlines and started calling around, and I called American Airlines, and I just talked to the person, and I said that, hey, she’s a service dog. Like, what do I need to do? And I found out that if you have a service dog, no matter what their size, they’re technically allowed on the plane.”
“But when I told her that, uh, she weighs 149 pounds uh, they said, well, she should be comfortable, and you need to be comfortable. I said, of course. So I was like, how about I buy 3 seats on the plane? And they said, yeah, absolutely. That would be totally fine. And that would work.”
“So I then had to fill out this form with the department of transportation, and I submitted the form, and then she said, call this number after 45 minutes. So then I called that number, and they said, okay, well, she’s been approved. And then they sent me over her identification number for the flight, and I bought free seats with the agent, and that was pretty much it.”
@gibbon1215 seems like a great guy and he said he’s happy to answer any questions about traveling with Darwin or about what it’s like living with Crohn’s disease and ileostomy.
He also added it was “definitely a shocker for people walking through the airport to see a literal horse coming towards them.” But Zebrasarefun6789 wrote a comment for dog lovers would probably agree with, “I would have given up my pre-booked window seat to sit on the floor next to her.”
@gibbon1215 Replying to @Parker Roberts Hope this helps answer some questions I’ve been getting! This was just my experience flying with her, but happy to answer more questions, and I have endless content of her. ? #greatdane #dog #crohnsdisease #tiktok #fyp #ostomate ♬ original sound – Gibbon
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Glad to know American Airlines is so pet friendly. I will choose a different airline when I have a choice. I don’t enjoy having unfamiliar animals around me. I have a fear. I saw no kind of jacket marking this dog as a service animal, i.e. trained. So many people are using these loopholes to bring animals aboard flights. I don’t have a preference for humans who misbehave either. Neither is good IN MY OPINION.
The rule at American Airlines the dogs not supposed to be in the passenger seat, unless it’s a celebrity dog
I’m surprised that’s there’s so many idiots that just have to bring their pets with them! These people are very insecure n seriously need some mental help!
So since they let this huge dog lie on the seats, how do get all the dander, drool, etc cleaned off before the next takeoff? Do they make certain that people with animal allergies don’t sit there on the next flight? Lawsuit coming if next person has a reaction and becoming very ill.
Esto es fabuloso un aplauso a la aerolínea y a las sobrecargos gracias por compartir sus videos ✈️👍🥰💕👌👏👏👏
Great Danes are so relaxing and comforting! I would rather see him on a plane then some dogs…lol. In a emergency that dog can actually help someone!
What about humans with allergies to dogs,cats etc.
Agreed 🖖🏾
They should allowed more dogs on flights there more behave then more so call human.. if an air line make that call I will defanally will be traveling more by plane with my fur baby’s
This is awesome! Why would they block pets they never blocked children who are louder & more trouble. I would much rather fly with a plane full of animals than humans.
If this guy is willing to purchase 3 seats for his dog these “influencers” who complain because they are too large to fit into one seat should shut up and buy an extra seat or 2. The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few….or the one!!!
I am a medically retired Flight Attendant who flies with my own Service Dog. When I was working we were trained to accommodate Service Animals of all sizes, including miniature ponies (true). The only comment would have made about traveling with the Great Dane is that Service Animals were not supposed to be on the seats – only on the floor – no matter how many seats you purchased. But the rules are constantly changing. I’m so glad he was able to travel with you! My Hunter loves it!