June 23, 2015

A Pet Pit-Stop at the Airport

Recently I shared pics of our trip to Hawaii. There were a couple I didn't share though.

While we were at the San Diego airport waiting for our flight, the hubs and I stopped to use the restrooms. Between the men's and women's bathrooms, this sign hung on the wall next to a closed door:

When I came out of the women's restroom, the hubs said, "You have to look in there."

This is what I saw:

Isn't that cutest?? There was also a sink to wash your hands. (Glad I didn't interrupt anypawdy doing their biz...)


I thought the "pet relief" room was a nice touch to make it just a little more convenient to travel with your pet!


Have you ever flown with your pet?

We have. Unfortunately it was with our beagle, who was too big to come in the cabin. It was nerve-wracking! 

The worst part was our first leg of our trip was from a small airport, where you had to walk out on the tarmac to get in the tiny plane. The cargo hold was open and she SAW US walk past. She started hooooowling with all her might, and of course everyone on the tiny plane could hear it.

Poor thing! Poor us! So stressful. The only "relief" on that trip was when it was over and we were reunited!


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52 comments:

  1. I've wondered about that when I read about people traveling with their dogs. Cool!

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  2. That is a really cool room. Don't think I could ever bring myself to fly with my boys though!

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    1. Yeah, I would never fly with a dog again - unless he/she was small enough (or a therapy dog) so they could come in the cabin.

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  3. I did fly in the cabin the day Mom picked me up, but we used the bathroom outside. A lot of airports have a small outdoor area.

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    1. Yeah, that time when we flew with Bailey, we had a long layover in Vancouver and they let us take her outside.

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  4. I'm not sure my solidly house-trained dogs would consider that an option, but maybe if they were bursting at the seams it would work. I would never fly my dogs in cargo as I have heard too many horror stories. The "agility elites" have to do it all the time to get to those World Team competitions but that's not something I'll ever have to worry about ;-)

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    1. Yeah, i would never fly a dog cargo again. We were young and foolish back then, but now I've heard too many horror stories. (Although it's funny because I just happened to stumble upon an article today that said that pet fatalities on flights are way down. Still - I wouldn't chance it!)

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  5. That's a very cute little pet bathroom. I haven't flown with pets. Guess I would be too nervous about it. I have a friend who works for a major airline and has told me one too many horror stories about pets in cargo. I'm sure most of the time it's fine, but probably won't take any chances.

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    1. Yeah, i agree. I wouldn't chance it again. Even though everything worked out fine, it was SO stressful! The only nice part was when we got on the one connecting flight, a stewardess came and gave me a note saying the dog was on board, and she said "We're going to take better care of your dog than we are of you." And that was the way I wanted it!

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  6. I must admit I'm a little jealous of small dog people when I see such things at the airport.

    I've even seem some airports where they give access to the sunshine and real grass without leaving the secured area.

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    1. Yes, being able to fly with the dog in the cabin is a definite plus for getting a small dog!

      That would be the ideal - real grass outdoors without leaving security. But I can see where that would be tough in some places.

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  7. That is adorable! Ive never seen that what a great idea

    retro rover

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    1. The hydrant just cracked me up. Such a nice touch.

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  8. Now that is what I call "ingenious" Great idea. I haven't flown with either one of the boys because they are both too big for the cabin area.

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    1. Yeah, it's too scary to fly with a dog not where you can see it at all times!

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  9. That's a great idea! Every airport should do that.

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    1. I know. It really cracked me up when I opened the door. i was afraid I was going to interrupt some pup doing his bid'ness, so to open it and see that made me laugh!

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    1. Rita would probably never use it (she's not a hydrant or fake grass girl...) but i did think it was still totally pawesome.

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  12. Yes, he's small enough to fly in the cabin. I tried taking him to one of those places and he flat out refused to go to the bathroom indoors.

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    1. As I just noted above, I think Rita would flat out refuse too. I suppose if a dog is used to fake grass it might be okay for them. Our friends have fake grass, but Rita doesn't like it - she goes in the dirt around the grass!

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  13. I read about the San Diego airport having a doggy room, now I see what they were talking about :) very neat

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    1. Well, they should have had photos along with what you read - cuz it's so cute!

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  14. Mom remembers seeing the Pet Relief at that airport but it was before me so she didn't think much of it. She's pretty much accepted that we're never flying anywhere together. Love Dolly

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    1. Yeah, Rita and I will never fly together. Unless we win the lottery and can afford to hire a private plane!

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  15. I can imagine my dogs spending hours there absorbing all the interesting scents before doing their business while I am waiting.

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    1. I wonder if it would smell so strongly of disinfectant that they'd wonder where they heck they were??

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  16. How cool is that!!! I often wondered if you were traveling through airports with your pet how you would deal if they needed to potty!
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & mabel

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    1. It is pretty handy if you're traveling with a pet - and if your pet will go on fake grass!

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  17. so cool the restroom. I couldn't have born it hearing my pup howling! Must have near broken your heart. LeeAnna and Cole, the reason we drive to vacations now

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    1. Yep, that's why we usually drive too. And if we go somewhere that we have to fly to, then Rita stays with my sis.

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  18. That is so great! When I had Sinead on the plane for our BlogPaws trip, we went through Chicago, and the only pet relief area was past security. I'd have to check out, and then check back in again! No way! This is a much better solution.

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

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    1. Yeah, that would be a total pain to have to exit, and then deal with security again!

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  19. That is awesome, I never saw anything like that. There should be more of those all over as dogs are going to take over the world and will need a place to pee.

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    1. LOL. Yes, and I personally can't wait for dogs to take over the world!

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  20. I saw two pretty big dogs in crates getting ready to board my last flight. I watched from my window as they went up the conveyor belt. They didn't seem too upset at the time, but after we landed, I could hear them complaining to the flight crew about the journey. Poor pups!

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    1. Oh, poor babies. When we flew that one time with Bailey, we couldn't see her being loaded on the connecting flight, but luckily they came and brought us a little tag that said "your dog has just been loaded" so we knew she'd made it on our flight. Still... so stressful flying with a dog!

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  21. YAY! It's about time!

    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

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    1. Right? What did folks who flew with dogs do before that? I guess they'd have had to go outside, but what a pain to have to come back through security again.

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  22. WOW! San Diego really gets it, don't they!? I've never seen a pet relief station indoors, we always have to run like the dickens to quickly use the outdoor relief area before we can get on the security line and board for what is always a long flight. Ugh. Thanks for sharing!
    Love & Biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

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    1. Oh, that must be stressful. I thought it was pretty cool! We're generally a pretty dog-friendly city, I think.

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  23. I think that's a great idea! I'm not sure about the airports where you are, but around here it's nothing but asphalt and cement when you step outside, there is literally no where for a dog to relieve themselves, (especially if they aren't use to going on concrete.)

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    1. Yeah, that's a good point. A lot of airports don't have grassy areas outside - it's all concrete and tarmac. I wonder which a dog (who's not used to either one) would prefer - concrete or fake grass? I'm guessing the fake grass would be closer to what they're used to.

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  24. Hi Y’all!

    My Humans don't fly any more; at least they don't take me when they do. Must be when they leave me at the Ranch.

    My Human thinks movin' a blog, especially a long established one, is akin to movin' into a different house. It takes awhile to get everything unpacked and put away and even longer to remember where everything is.

    Check us out at our new home http://www.browndogcbr.net.

    Our theme is still changing periodically as we try to select one that works the best for us and you, our readers.

    Y’all come on by,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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  25. hello pooch smooches its dennis the vizsla dog hay that duz sownd like a stressful trip with yore beagle!!! fortchoonatly wen i hav to travel i yoozhually go by majik flying koaster it is mutch eezier on evrywun altho i offen seem to hav trouble akchooally reetching my destinayshun!!! ok bye

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  26. That's adorable! I've never seen an area like that. :)

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  27. That looks so convenient. We fly with our dog six times a year and the airports we use have pet areas outside and not nearly so handy. Roxy flies in the hold and seems to travel quite well, although she's certainly happy to see us at the other end.

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