The longest flight Sami has ever taken almost didn't happen. Twice.
We were flying Lisbon to New York. Seven and a half hours, his longest ever, so Miruna did the full routine. Vet visit for the US health certificate. A weigh-in, because he has to be under 8 kg to fly in the cabin. He came in at 8.05. The vet's advice: smaller meals, and no dinner the night before the flight.
Then a short haircut, so he'd look as small as possible in the bag. Then a refresher session getting in and out of the carrier, for a dog who has done it plenty of times already.
We lived two hours from Lisbon then, so we drove down the day before and stayed in a pet-friendly hotel by the airport. Organized people.
On the way to the airport the next morning, Sami's carrier bag was sitting on top of the suitcases. Not strapped down. At some point it fell off. We noticed at the airport. The one bag on this entire trip that could not be replaced at a gate.
We went back. It was lying in the street.
Security was easy. A man asked Sami's name and told us his own dog had been called Whiskey. We got on the plane. Sami went under the seat and went straight to sleep.
And then we sat there. One hour. Something about a hydraulic fluid tank reading zero. Two hours. Then the flight was cancelled. We woke up a dog who had skipped dinner for nothing, collected our bags, and spent another hour finding out when the next flight was.
The next day, we flew. A lot of people had found other flights in the meantime, so about a third of the plane was empty. The seat next to Miruna was free. She took Sami out to stretch, put him on it with his blanket, and he curled up and slept. The flight attendants saw him and smiled. Breakfast was served around him. He sat there like a stuffed toy someone had buckled in.
Miruna is very clear when people ask about this: don't expect it. That was luck, a nice crew, and a half-empty plane. Most flights, he stays in the bag under the seat, and that's the rule.
But I still think about it. The bag in the street, two hours on the runway, the cancellation. And then the best flight he's ever had.
Bobby (and Sami)
P.S. Holiday trips are coming. If you're wondering which airlines would take your dog in the cabin, I built a free checker: canmydogfly.com