I my search for alternatives to packing my dog in cargo to go across the country, I came upon Dogtravel Company’s website. Their homepage stakes their claim to be, “the world’s first Travel Club for Dog Lovers”, and this is apparent in the offerings they have for Dog Travel club members. A one year membership is $29.99, which covers you and one dog - each additional dog is $5 and each additional person is $10. A Dogtravel yearly membership gives you access to a variety of travel options, a special discount on Fido Friendly magazine, discounts on car rentals, hotel/motel/b&b discounts, exclusive rates for pet insurance, and discounts on products from participating providers including Pet Trust and 1-800 Pet Meds.

The biggest member perk for Dogtravel members is the ability to travel by air with their pets, with their dog seated next to them on the plane! Once you become a member, you will have access to the Dogtravel Flight Office where you can obtain quotes for your travel and book private or group dog friendly travel to anywhere in the world. All travelers on the flight will and must be Dogtravel members. All of their travel is 100% dog friendly, and your dog will never travel (read - suffocate) in cargo. In fact, your dog will be by your side during your entire trip (except for a short visit with TSA agents when going through security before flights and train service). If you travel by air or train, your dog will be sitting in the seat next to you.

The drawback? Right now there are not many members on the site, and the forums used to find other travelers are practically empty, making it difficult to find others dog-lovers to fill an entire plane. Their company is entirely member driven, which is great when there are a lot of members, but a bit rough in the beginning stages while they are trying to recruit other like-minded dog owners. They do not use commercial airlines, which is why they started the Dogtravel Company & the Dogtravel Club. All of our flights (and train service) are private Dogtravel charters made available only to our members. So I suppose you could fly solo, but it is going to be for a price!

I think this has the possibility to become a great resource for pet owners, and I hope that the word starts to get out about this wonderful service, and a whole new way for dog owners to travel. I think the only way it is going to emerge as an affordable option is if everyone “gets on board” so-to-speak and embraces this new concept. I look forward to watching their growth in the future, and am strongly considering becoming a member, if for no other reason than to find out what a flight from Los Angeles to New York might cost for myself, my husband and our two dogs.

I would love to hear experiences from any Dogtravel members if you are out there - please comment below!

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