Worth noting though that if the dog has to fly, this is by far the most humane option. Eg, crating them into the belly where horrible things have already happened (trapped on Arizona tarmac for an hour in full sun comes to mind) shouldn't even be an option.

Unfortunately, due to what you mention it seems it's most humane to drive your pet across country rather than a relatively short flight.

Maybe they should do occasional special "pets allowed" flights where you can bring your pet with you in the cabin. It'd be great for people moving cross-country with their pets, and the flights wouldn't need to be that often.

As a benefit, this would avoid exposing people with allergies to pets on random flights; if you book the weekly pet flight, you know what you're getting into.

Most airlines won't put animals in cargo any more after too many of those things have happened.

Which totally makes sense. There's way too much liability or risk of negative PR in carrying pets in the cargo hold.

Airplanes are for people anyway.

My family drove 21 days and 11,000 km from Canada to Panama because the airline refused to allow our dog. It was July and the flight had a layover in Houston. I could see the problem there with the heat in the hold, but we all risked our lives and went through a lot of trouble because the airline couldn't accommodate a Shiba Inu in the cabin. The dog needed a visa for every country we passed through. With notarized veterinary report duly sanctioned by the embassy of every country. Some expired before we could make it to the border and we had to resort to bribes and other techniques to get through. It was a farce because there were stray dogs, goats, cats, pigs, and other animals crossing as they pleased at many of these borders.

The airline refunded our tickets, but only after we rejected their helpful suggestion to put the dog down and fly without him. Bet you can guess the airline.

There are companies whose sole expertise is moving animals long distances domestically and internationally. I imagine it's not cheap, but it is an alternative. Weird that the airline wouldn't suggest that.

On the other hand, I see some fun & adventure in the three week drive from Canada to Panama.

Moving with pets across international borders is pretty much always guaranteed to be a pain. Between the permits, quarantines, etc., it's a nightmare.

There's no way I'd fly with my pet dog given the horror stories of those that do. At best, pets seem to get sub-par treatment, at worst, they are abused and die. I'd think pretending they're a service animal so they can fly _with_ you is better than putting them in a cage and in with the luggage, at least for the animal.

Personally, I think people that need service animals deserve that right and should be respected. So I just don't fly with my dog. No real need to, there are plenty of local boarding options, including "doggie daycare" places where he's never locked up.

"I'd think pretending they're a service animal so they can fly _with_ you is better than putting them in a cage and in with the luggage, at least for the animal."

Yeah, but it's really bad for all the people out there with legitimate medical issues who do actually need service animals.

Very true. Those pictured horses cannot be enjoying getting crammed into the legroom of a seat. Seems like cruelty to animals to me.