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As I’ve said before, it’s easy to travel with a small pet dog (say, under 10 lbs.), and it’s pretty easy to travel with a pet Chloe’s size (she has variously weighed 13-16 lbs., and stands 12″ tall at the shoulder). I am tagging this post so Amy’s in-flight pictures show up in Dog Jaunt’s collection of pet carriers on planes, in case folks need to show airline agents an XL SturdiBag in action on Delta or Southwest. I particularly like Amy’s modification of the extra-large SturdiBag (replacing its hard foam “floor” and soft pad with the ones from the large-sized SturdiBag that she carried as a back-up). Please note that her Plan B was workable because she sized up her dog, so to speak, and decided that although he’s tall (his 16″ shoulder height is 4″ taller than the optimal height for the 12″ high large SturdiBag), much of his height is in his legs, and he likely curls up into a small bundle.

The Velcro backing corrals the bowls, which are light and would otherwise stray (loading them with food and water adds to the system’s overall stability), but you can easily pull one or both bowls out and use them without their base. Each holds 1.5 cups, and that’s all the water or food a dog Chloe’s size needs at any given time (please note that the Duo also comes in a size Large, with 3-cup capacity bowls). Smaller dogs need even less bowl acreage, and for those pups, you can choose to pop only one of a Duo bowl’s creases upwards (they flatten with two folds). I like the stability that the container-turned-base provides, and I like being able to put the bowls in the dishwasher (which you can, even with those felt pads on the bottom).

[Editor’s note: Here’s my review of a very similar carrier, the Smart Space by Brinkmann Pet (ignore my italicized update, since the large Pettom is the same size as the Smart Space Our first return flight was about four hours long, in an Economy seat on a Embraer 190 (seat pitch 31-33”; width 18”; seat chart here). Another layover, and another walk around the human bathroom before boarding our final flight, close to two hours long in an Economy window seat on a Bombardier Q400 (seat pitch 31”; width 17”; seat chart here). The Smart Space (the clone of this bag that I reviewed) was very appealing, particularly for a really long flight, but my modifications were too timid to allow it to flex around under-seat obstructions.

All guide dogs and assistance dogs are permitted on all of Dublin Bus services however it is up to the discretion of the driver to decide whether any other dog is allowed to board the bus. Overall, Irish Rail’s pet policy is good for pets small enough to travel on their owners’ laps, either leashed or in a carrier, but tricky for larger dogs. I wrote to Irish Rail asking if the pet policies on those lines are the same as Irish Rail’s pet policy for intercity trains, and on 8/4/16 I received a reply that essentially said yes, the policies are the same: “ Speaking of intercity transportation, Bus Éireann operates a fleet of intercity buses; alas, as with the United States’ Greyhound bus line, the iconic dog logo does not mean that pet dogs are welcome on board.