Change of Plans....My Dog Can Fly!

   I've made a change of plans from what I said I would post last week. Last week, I had said that the next post would be called "Top 10 Things NOT To Say To Someone With A Service Dog" but I'm not going to write about that. I was starting the draft and writing down various comments about why they shouldn't be asked, but I really didn't like where the post was going. I want this blog to be positive and uplifting, and I felt like I was making that post very snarky and kind of negative. Don't worry; throughout my future posts, I'm sure I'll mention all of the questions that shouldn't be asked, but I really felt like listing them out was just going to go against the message I want to send.

   So instead, I'm going to write about flying with Zido! I get a lot of questions about how that works and what it's like, so I figured with springtime and travel season coming up, that now would be a great time to touch on this subject!

   Zido and I have flown together eight times and each time is a little different. We've flown out of Reagan and Dulles in DC, Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Wisconsin, and Las Vegas so I've gotten to see how the different airports handle service dogs but to be honest, I haven't had a single bad experience at any of them. It helped going in with an idea of what I was going to do and what my rights are as a person with a service dog.

   The preparation begins right when we're booking the tickets. For a majority of the flights, we've flown Southwest because of the ability to choose our seats when we get on board. Obviously, you can do this on other flights, through the online ticket-booking, but I like the way Southwest does it because, as someone who has priority boarding because of Zido, we always get the seats that work best for us. Those seats are normally in the second row. We can't sit in the emergency exit, but the ones in front normally have a fair amount of leg room. I need leg room because that's exactly where Zido sits! He is trained to curl up into a little ball right where my purse would normally go, and he LOVES it! It's kind of like a little cave for him to sleep in. When I have a family member sitting next to me, he feels the freedom to stretch out and snooze.

Zido and I on our way to Arizona. April 2015

   Before we get to the flight, though, we have to get to the airport and through security. I make sure that Zido does his business at least once before we walk in the doors, but hopefully twice. As for security, I prepare the night before the flight by taking out anything sharp from his harness's packs. Then, I put whatever else I have in his packs into small plastic bags. This speeds up the process of unpacking all of the stuff when we get up to the scanners. Normally, each TSA will ask me what I want to do to get through if they don't have something in-line already. I choose to unpack his harness, keep his harness on him, tell him to sit and stay, I go through, I call him through, and then they pat down his packs and check for any unauthorized residue. Other partners might have a different way of handling this situation, but I've found this to work the best for Zido and me. Once they're done with the pat-down, we are on our way to the gate!

   Once we get to the gate, we go up to the counter to ask for priority boarding. That allows us to be one of the first ones on the flight so we can get the seats. Normally the wait isn't too long, but if it is it's always nice to have a behind-security-potty-place for Zido. A lot of airports are starting to build these in and they are a life-saver during short layovers. If there isn't one behind security, that means we have to go back out of security and then go through the whole process again.

   Boarding the plane is pretty easy; we just pick the seat we want, I take Zido's large harness off and slip on his smaller vest, I put his blanket down, and tell him to go to bed.

Zido's all curled up and ready to fly

He actually loves his little spot and being able to pop his head up to say hi to me. I also always tell the person whose seat he's under that there's a service dog under their seat in case they feel him move or see a tail pop out from under their legs. We don't want anyone thinking there's a snake on the plane or anything! I've only run into one nasty lady who said some very rude comment, but in general people are really nice about it.

   Overall, Zido could care less about flying but I've noticed he isn't a huge fan of the take-off or landing portion. I help ease his mind with a few drops of "Rescue Remedy." It's an all natural herbal calming formula that just helps him relax without medicating him. That way if he needs to alert me, he is able to without being super drugged. It also wears off very quickly so there aren't any lasting side-effects.

   That's really basically it! If we have a longer flight I will always ask the flight attendant for some ice to wet his tongue without making him have to use the restroom immediately, but as soon as we land, I take him outside to relieve himself. I was really nervous the first time I was getting ready to take him on a trip, but was really surprised to find how easy it was! That's one important thing that Canine Partners for Life has taught all of us is not to be scared to try something with our dogs. The best way to get over a fear is to do it and not make excuses about how difficult we might THINK it is. We always need to remember that our dogs have been trained for this; it's most likely that we're more nervous than they are and I've often times found Zido to be my "Rescue Remedy" when I'm really anxious.

   Up next on Zee and Me: "Two for One Special: Dating with a Service Dog"

Love and blessings,
Zee and Me