A US man boarded a flight with something that did not meet the dimension specifications for hand luggage – his giant Great Dane.
Gabriel Bogner, 27, left both passengers and crew speechless after filling out three seats with his colossal canine while taking a cross-country flight on from Los Angeles, California, to New York City.
Darwin the Great Dane required two entire seats to sprawl comfortably on while her owner took the third for himself.
Gabriel, a start-up founder, was moving from LAX to New York’s La Guardia and said this was Darwin’s first time flying.
He explained that his enormous pooch, who is five years old, is his support dog and needs to be with him at all times.
Darwin the Great Dane – who was flying for the first time – required two entire seats to sprawl comfortably on while her owner had one for himself (Photo: SWNS)
Gabriel suffers with Crohn’s disease, which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that leaves him in pain and uses up much of his time – which is where Darwin comes in to make life easier.
A Tiktok video uploaded by Gabriel of the pup’s airborne adventure has blown up online – receiving over 17.9 million views, 2.9 million likes and over 12,000 comments.
The man – known as @gibbon1215 on the social site – had thousands of users gushing over his adorable pooch and many more leaving positive words of support and awe.
Footage shows Darwin boarding the flight, saying hello to people in the front rows – and even taking a look in the cockpit to greet the pilots.
The pooch then sits calmly in her seats, curiously looking around before settling down for a much-needed nap.
When Darwin wakes up, her owner films her sitting up peacefully as if the delightful dog had been flying for years, before exiting the plane in an orderly fashion like any other passenger with two legs.
Gabriel said: ‘People were absolutely gob-smacked and shocked but everyone was so excited to see her. I’ve never seen so many smiling at an airport.’
Speaking of Darwin’s first experience in an airport and onboard a plane, Gabriel explained: ‘This was rare, [it was] her first time flying.
The pooch sat calmly in her seats, settling down for a much-needed nap before waking up to sit and relax for the rest of the journey – as if she had been flying for years (Photo: SWNS)
‘There were no issues, she was great and the entire crew was amazing – they did joke that she got an upgrade and I didn’t but it was a very smooth trip.’
When Gabriel inquired about transporting his precious Darwin in a crate under the plane, he was stunned to learn that she was too big for even the largest of crates.
He joked: ‘It was definitely a shocker for people walking through the airport to see a literal horse coming towards them.’
Explaining his Crohn’s and Darwin’s support to people on TikTok, Gabriel said: ‘Crohn’s disease involves a lot of time and a lot of pain and a lot of time in the bathroom,” Bogner explained on TikTok.
‘I took it upon myself to train her in some of these tasks like accompanying me to the bathroom, of which at one point in my life I was going 40 times a day.’
Gabriel could not believe the positive reception Darwin received while flying, saying: ‘Everyone was so excited to see her. I’ve never seen so many smiling at an airport’
An overwhelming amount of supporters on Tiktok expressed playful envy under the video that their own plane journeys did not feature such an adorable dog
An overwhelming amount of supporters on Tiktok expressed playful envy that their own plane journeys did not feature such an adorable dog.
One person joked: ‘Instantly demanding a refund for my recent flight, which unreasonably lacked a Great Dane.’
Another wrote: ‘I don’t understand how someone could hate a dog on a plane. I mean come on, ITS A DANE ON A PLANE.’
A third said: ‘Why can’t my seat ever be next to a Great Dane.’
People may have been shocked to see such a huge canine like Darwin on their flight, but some have been left baffled after reporting seeing some unlikely species accompanying their owners while on a plane.
A bizarre gallery uploaded to Bored Panda in 2019 has documented the strangest support animals that have been spotted taking to the skies across America – including pigs, miniature horses, peacocks, hens and even a kangaroo.
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