Thelife- An American Airlines passenger brought his 140-pound Great Dane service dog on a flight.
- He booked two extra seats for the dog, called Darwin, because of how big she is.
An American Airlines passenger who brought his 140-pound Great Dane on a flight booked two extra seats to accommodate its size.
In a video posted to TikTok, the user @gibbon1215, said he took his service dog on a cross-country American Airlines flight from Los Angeles International Airport to New York's LaGuardia Airport.
It is unclear on which date the flight occurred, but the video was posted last month.
@gibbon1215 Who says Great Danes aren’t airplane dogs. Shoutout to @American Airlines for making our move to Brooklyn a piece of cake though! (Yes I bought 3 seats for us on the plane) #greatdane #dog #gay #fyp #tiktok #newyork #brooklyn #doggo ♬ Funny Background - Stefani
The video shows the massive gray dog — named Darwin — lying comfortably across two seats during the flight while her owner sits next to her. At one point, the Great Dane also pokes her head over and through the cracks between the seats in front.
"Who says Great Danes aren't airplane dogs," the caption said. "Shoutout to American Airlines for making our move to Brooklyn a piece of cake though! (Yes I bought 3 seats for us on the plane)."
The video, which at the time of writing had more than 18 million views, elicited many comments, including one from a person who wrote: "Instantly demanding a refund for my recent flight, which unreasonably lacked a Great Dane."
Another comment said: "I would lose my absolute MIND if I was blessed to be in the general vicinity of this."
In a follow-up video, the passenger said that he has Crohn's disease — an inflammatory bowel condition — that causes him a lot of pain and anxiety.
The dog, he said, must be by his side at all times to accompany him to the bathroom and perform pressure therapy for pain treatment.
He said that after filling in many forms with the Department of Transportation and American Airlines, he was able to get his dog on the plane.
"I bought three seats with the agent, and that was pretty much it. It was definitely a shocker for people walking through the airport to see a literal horse walking coming them," he said in a later video.
The dog was originally on the floor, but when the passenger asked the flight attendants if she could sit on the seat, he said they agreed.
According to American Airlines policy, trained service dogs "may fly in the cabin at no charge if they meet the requirements."
The airline did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.