[nagdu] Airport Relief

[David]

I've had 10 flights since receiving my first pup 4 months ago.  8 of 
these flights have been through Atlanta which has an artificial turf 
relief area outside of security at the end of the airport.  Claire Rose 
will not use the area, because it is loaded with so much dog scent she 
is totally distracted while there.  We've almost missed 2 flights.  
Actually, we did miss 1 flight, but it was called back to the gate for a 
repair and the gate agent was successful in her argument with the 
captain about opening the door to let us on.  The only airports where we 
have had any success with relieving were in Tampa, Boston, and Columbus, 
Ohio -- all three of which have natural turf.

BTW, if you are flying Delta, make sure you use their Disability Service 
line.  They've been fabulous to us.  They will ask you the weight of 
your dog, so that they can accommodate its size.  We've always been 
placed in Comfort Plus seats with no added charge and no telephone 
reservation charge.  They've even relocated passengers who have already 
booked to accommodate Claire Rose.  They will help schedule your 
connection so that you have enough time to relieve between connections, 
which in our case has proved to be irrelevant, since connections come 
through Atlanta.  Claire Rose has been such a genius in airports that 
I'm going to tighten up my Atlanta connection time in the future, 
because of her refusal to use the relief area.

'Good to know about Detroit, I almost booked through there the last time 
I flew, but when you go to a smaller airport alternate flight options 
are limited if there are delays and cancellations.

*David and Claire Rose in Clearwater, FL*

On 10/26/2015 11:20 AM, Raven Tolliver via nagdu wrote:
> I've only attempted to use these at 2 different airports. At the
> Raleigh Durham airport in Raleigh, North Carolina, the dog relief area
> is outside security. At the Detroit Airport, it is inside security.
> Personally, I think these are poor excuses for relief areas. At least,
> they are for my dog. The Golden Guy absolutely refuses to use these
> because it's inside, and it does not even resemble anything a dog
> might relieve himself on outside. Whatever material they use is not
> even close to grass, wood chips, or cement/concrete, and it is
> saturated with toxic chemicals. Maybe a lot of people's dogs have no
> issue, but mine certainly will not relieve in an indoor area unless it
> smells like the urine of a bitch in heat. Not saying the place should
> wreak of such an odor, but dogs are very primal and rely heavily on
> scent and texture, and these relief areas are not helpful in the least
> bit for my dog.
> -- Raven Founder of 1AM Editing & Research www.1am-editing.com You are 
> valuable because of your potential, not because of what you have or 
> what you do. Naturally-reared guide dogs 
> https://groups.google.com/d/forum/nrguidedogs