Wow. I thought my family traveled a lot but after checking out this popular Instagram feed, I realize we need to get cracking. You’ll see what I mean when you watch this short video that is going viral thanks to its cuteness or its absurdity, depending on how you look at it. RELATED: Should airlines offer pet-free flights?
Lisa, the proud dog owner, pet entrepreneur and travel blogger who used to live in New York City but is now based in Charleston, South Carolina, travels the world with her two little Yorkies (Amy and Emily). According to her profile, they’ve been to 63 countries and four continents, and she has photos to back it up.
In one of Lisa’s most recent videos, her dogs are dressed in ridiculously cute pink silk pajamas and bows and are sitting in their own Polaris (United’s first class) seat for the flight between Newark and Los Angeles.
Lisa wrote on her Picnics with Puppies page that “Amy, Emily, and I have been fortunate to travel the world experiencing 54 different countries together. Each occasion has allowed us to meet the most interesting people and see the most amazing things. One constant throughout our journey’s has been the love of food, picturesque scenery, and great people.” It appears that Lisa updates her Instagram more than her website, which is the reason for the discrepancy in country count.
Here’s Lisa’s post:
@nycyorkiegirls: 🗣️Did you hear what that lady said? 😳😬 The girls are always happy to spread peace, love and happiness 💕 Emily may look like she was judging, but in reality she was just wishing they would hurry up with boarding and turn the lights off!!
Pajamas💕: @dog__people_
Dior 🎀 : @bark5thave
💙✈️: @united obsessed with their pre-boarding music
View this post on Instagram
The caption reads, “What would you do if you saw these dogs with their own seat?” As one might imagine, like everything these days, public opinion is divided. Some are all for it while others are vehemently opposed to it. Here’s a sample of the comments:
Sbseim: Yeet them to the cargo hold
Pinkstonpink: They need to be in a veterinary house or let someone dog sit..Dog on planes disrespectful of people allergies of dogs
marie_mburu_: Waste of money 💰 and lost priority on mankind and humanity in the name of dog lovers it’s ridiculous i would rather build a children’s home someone help the addicted on the streets rather than do things the dogs know nothing or even recognize in fact they get so stressed
ssm1972: I love it!! Would rather sit next to well behaved dogs than whinny kids!
maryjv17: I love when people love their dogs like this
boezmo: It’s your money spend it how you like. The haters are going to hate. Those fur babies deserve the best. If the haters want first class, they can pay for it, too. 🙌
momar_db: Better behaved than other passengers I’ve seen..including both children AND adults!
My wife’s first comment upon watching the video was: “Are these dogs safe if they’re not in carriers? What happens to them during severe turbulence? Do they just torpedo around the cabin?” Valid questions.
I’m quite surprised, not only at how many countries these dogs have traveled to, but that she is able to bring the dogs with her. In her Stories, Lisa answers readers questions about which countries are the toughest, what food she serves them and more.
One thing she advises is that if you’re planning on going to Europe, at least once a year, then a pet passport is worth it. “Before I got their pet passports I was spending easily upwards to $800 for two health, certificates every time we went to Europe. OUCH not to mention the time, stress and anxiety, waiting for the USDA stamp approval. Before Covid when living in New York City, I easily went to Europe 5 to 6 times a year, maybe even still I literally can book a ticket to Europe in the morning and be on the evening flight with our pet passports.”
The main way Lisa is able to get around all of the restrictions, besides the pet passport, is that “Amy and Emily are task-trained service animals, and are able to fly carrier free!”
If Lisa really has a disability, then good for her. However, if she doesn’t and is just gaming the system, then I have a problem with that. That’s because dog owners who pretend to have a disability and buy a service dog vest on the internet so they can get their animal in the cabin and avoid fees are really hurting those who truly need them.
I’ve flown many times with dogs that are legitimate service animals and ones that aren’t. You can usually tell the ones that have been trained. But I’ve never seen someone traveling with two service animals for one person. Have you?
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So she claims they are “task-trained” service animals so can fly carrier-free. But I thought that service animals had to be on the floor at the owner’s feet, so how is it that these dogs are in their own individual seats separate from her? And they are not wearing service vests indicating that they are service animals? OK, maybe this latter isn’t a requirement but still.
Obviously she has money to burn buying same day tickets for 3 to Europe, and probably not in economy.