Technically this means I can bring my dog literally anywhere, but I only use it for flying. When on the train, the dog resides in a backpack that meets the "carrier" qualification. I don't take her in restaurants or movie theaters like a huge douche.
Why do I think it's OK? Well, it's a long list. First, the airlines will not allow dogs over 17 pounds as carry-on, even in a carrier. They won't let you buy an additional seat for the dog, even in a carrier. 18lbs = under the plane. 2 hours early, dog fucking terrified, so you probably have to Benadryl the pup, and they've been known to freeze to death under there. Nope Nope Nope.
This all makes no sense. If I buy a second seat, the size of the dog should not matter. Tiny dog in carrier is just as loud as big dog in carrier.
Toddlers fly for free and scream like fucking maniacs. 5 year olds buy a seat and scream and play iPad games on full volume.
My dog sits underneath the seat in front of me and doesn't move. I've had a 2 hour flight where people in my row did not know a dog was on the plane until we got off.
My dog's extremely well trained. She doesn't have breakfast on flight days, and I feed her a few ice cubes so she isn't crazy thirsty the whole trip. No chance of a mid-aisle poop, any more so than the old lady two rows up might. She doesn't bark, etc.
I do get that it's hard to have rules such as "your dog can fly with you if they aren't a huge fucking pain".
Two years ago tons of dogs were flying for free. Now you have to pay an extra $50 to have your doctor answer calls from the airline to confirm, and it's back down to where I rarely see another dog in the airport.