In a perfect world, our dogs would be welcome everywhere we go and regardless of how we get there. As it stands, while your dog is greeted with a smile and a water bowl at almost any patio cafe in the country and in Nordstroms nationwide — as long as she takes the elevator and not the escalator up and down — her mode of long-distance transportation is pretty much limited to the automobile.
Dogs weighing not much more than 15 pounds can fly on some commercial airlines — for a fee, of course. And earlier this year, Amtrak launched a carry-on pet pilot program allowing dogs and cats weighing less than 20 pounds to travel in carriers with their owners — for a fairly reasonable fee of $25/pet. But the pilot program is at this time limited to certain trains within the Illinois area. Success there will hopefully bring similar options to train-traveling pet owners from sea to shining sea.
But big dogs and fat cats are "persona" non grata. Ditto with even the medium-sized. And you rabbit people are totally out of luck.
Updated: Sat Nov 08, 2014