A 27-year-old man from Los Angeles booked three plane tickets to fly with his emotional support dog, a 140-pound Great Dane, to New York.
The pooch, a very good (and massive) 5-year-old girl, named Darwin, found herself on the spotlight the moment she stepped foot in the airport with her owner, Gabriel Bogner.
Footage of Darwin in the airport and on the airplane has gone viral on Tiktok, with over 18 million views and 2.9 million likes.
Bogner wrote on the caption, “Who says Great Danes aren’t airplane dogs.”
In the video, you can see Darwin greeting the pilots and sitting comfortably in her two plane seats like the good girl that she is.
Bogner tells South West News Service, “People were absolutely gobsmacked and shocked, but everyone was so excited to see her.”
“I’ve never seen so many people smiling at an airport,” he continued.
In a follow-up video, Bogner revealed that he looked into a lot of transportation options for his pooch. He considered driving and chartering a plane, but none of them seemed practical.
He also inquired about pet cargo crates, however, Bogner said, “she ended up being bigger than the largest crate available.”
Ultimately, Bogner bought three plane tickets after finding out that he can fly with his service dog, regardless of the pooch’s size.
Bogner also revealed that the flight from Los Angeles to New York marked Darwin’s first ever flight.
Many dog lovers were expressing their jealousy to the passengers on the flight saying, “Why can’t my seat ever be next to a Great Dane”, “hoping there’s a Great Dane pupgrade option on my next flight”, and “the ONLY TIME people are thinking “please be sitting next to me.””
And while many can’t stop gushing about the massive pooch and her A+ plane etiquette, despite being a first-time flyer, a lot of users were calling Bogner a liar about Darwin a service dog.
However, Bogner posted a video explaining how Darwin provides all the necessary support he needs in connection with his disability.
One user wrote, “What an outstanding passenger.” While another said, “Honestly idc if the dog is a service dog or not, he was well behaved, didn’t cause any issues, and is probably a safe weight limit for the seat sooo.”
