How does one fit an eighty-five-pound service dog discreetly on an airplane? Well, if that service dog happens to be Milo, all one has to do is point to the correct seat and watch him tuck perfectly into the footspace beneath it.
In my last post I talked about how easily this wonderful dog breezed through his first airport check-in and TSA security scan. But after this came seven hours on a Airbus A330, which isn’t quite a Dreamliner. Now don’t get me wrong--I have no complaints about the aircraft or the airline. In fact, I’m going to do some bragging on behalf of XL Airways before this paragraph is over. But we all know airplanes only look big from the outside. They tend to be a wee bit cramped for the passengers, no matter which airline you use or which class you fly. This is part of the experience and anyone who travels knows it’s something you accept and just deal with. However, the customer service and personal touches from the flight crew of XL Airlines will make me choose this airline again and again whenever it’s an option, regardless of what their competitors try to offer. I highly recommend flying XL Airways if you have a service animal or small pet that can ride in the cabin. They are excellent about verifying paperwork, very knowledgeable about international animal import laws, and accomodating in every way they possibly can be.
In the video below that I took from inside the terminal as our plane rolled into the gate, you can see the window I would eventually occupy in the second to last section, fourth from the back, directly over the wing.
I was surprised and quite pleased to recognize familiar faces when I boarded with Milo. It turned out that I had the same flight crew as I'd had for the trip over! This wasn’t surprising when I thought about it--I’d booked a turnaround, which meant I landed one day and flew back the next. Then, when one of the attendants recognized me, her face lit up with a genuine smile. Nothing makes a passenger feel more welcome and appreciated than a personal greeting like that.
The flight was packed full with only four empty seats, and none of them were together. My row was completely filled. A lovely couple had the “B” and “C” seats, and while neither of them objected to flying with a dog, we were painfully cramped and all up in each other’s business whether we wanted to be or not. I would have gladly moved and given them the row, but there was no place better to put Milo and me. The flight attendant tried. She searched the plane but could only come up with a nearby seat for one of the couple. They agreed to be split up for the duration of the flight, and that made me feel bad. No matter how pleasant they were about it, it absolutely sucked that they couldn’t fly together.
They were part of a group flying over for a wedding, so I can only hope that the festivities in France more than made up for the inconvenience Milo and I caused them on the plane. I had every intention of buying them all a round during the flight, but the drink cart came by while I was napping and by the time I realized what was happening it had gone so far up the aisle that I would have had to raise a ruckus to get the attendant’s attention. And there was no “next time.” Passengers went into sleep mode with window shades drawn and interior lights dim, and by the time we all woke, the crew was serving breakfast. So much for a round on me. I mean, who wants bubbly with scrambled eggs, right?
Nonetheless, everyone stayed in high spirits during the flight. Milo wanted no part of watching takeoff and landing, but when I did encourage him to pop his head up for a quick lookaround, he managed to make friends with people sitting nearby. In the following photo you can see not only the very gracious dark-haired lady who sacrificed flight time with her partner so Milo could have more room, but you can also see the gentleman behind us who made fast friends with Milo during descent. A note of interest: he and Milo ran into each other again at the airport train station. It was a very happy reunion, and I would love to have taken photos of it, but the train was about to leave, so we just had to commit that one to memory.
I have to admit--it felt good to be back in France. Michel was waiting for us at the airport with tickets for the bullet train back to Lille. We made sure Milo had a chance to relieve himself, then we headed out for the last leg of our journey.
In Lille, we transferred to a local train that took us to the station in Douai. Milo passed out the minute he realized he had room to sprawl. Seemed like he was still in “tuck” mode, though--either that or he thinks he’s a goose who sleeps with his head under his wing. Whatever the case, the poor boy didn’t move until the train stopped in Douai.
Once there, though, he was wide awake for the ride home. I could tell he knew the world around him had changed. Judging by the bright eyes and enthusastic expression, I’d say he liked what he saw!
But nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, could top his joy at seeing his friends Tori and Paige again. I didn't get their reunion on video because I was too immersed in the moment. But there was a whole bunch of tail wagging and happy yipping going on. If anyone ever doubts that dogs love and bond with their canine and human families, one only has to look at the photo I took today in the garden to see it written all over their sweet little faces.