An American man boarded a flight with something that didn’t meet carry-on size specifications: his giant Great Dane.
Gabriel Bogner, 27, left both passengers and crew speechless after taking three seats with his hulking dog on a cross-country flight from Los Angeles, California, to New York City.
Darwin the Great Dane needed two full chairs to lie comfortably on, while her owner took the third for himself.
Gabriel, a startup founder, moved from LAX to New York’s La Guardia and said this was Darwin’s first time flying.
He explained that his huge dog, who is five years old, is his service dog and must be with him at all times.
Darwin the Great Dane – who was flying for the first time – needed two full seats to lie comfortably on, while her owner had one for himself (Photo: SWNS)
Gabriel suffers from Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes him pain and consumes much of his time – which is where Darwin steps in to make life easier.
A Tiktok video uploaded by Gabriel about the pup’s adventure in the sky has blown up online – with more than 17.9 million views, 2.9 million likes and more than 12,000 comments.
The man – known as @gibbon1215 on the social site – had thousands of users gushing about his adorable pooch and many more left positive words of support and awe.
Film material shows Darwin boarding the flight, saying hello to people in the front rows – and even peeking into the cockpit to greet the pilots.
The pooch then sits quietly in her seats, curiously looking around before settling down for a much-needed nap.
When Darwin wakes up, her owner films her sitting peacefully upright as if the delightful dog has been flying for years, before she exits the plane orderly like any other two-legged passenger.
Gabriel said, “People were absolutely stunned and shocked, but everyone was so excited to see her. I’ve never seen so many smiling people in an airport.’
Speaking of Darwin’s first experience in an airport and on board an aircraft, Gabriel explained, ‘This was rare, (it was) her first time flying.
The pooch sat quietly in her seats and settled down for a much-needed nap before waking up to sit and relax for the rest of the journey — as if she’d been flying for years (Photo: SWNS)
“There were no problems, she was great and the whole crew was great – they joked that she got an upgrade and I didn’t, but it was a very smooth trip.”
When Gabriel inquired if he could transport his beloved Darwin in a crate under the plane, he was astonished to learn that it was too big for even the largest crates.
He joked, “It was definitely a shock to people walking through the airport to literally see a horse coming towards them.”
Explaining his support for Crohn’s and Darwin to people on TikTok, Gabriel said, “Crohn’s 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 escorting me to the bathroom, which I went 40 times a day at one point in my life.”
Gabriel couldn’t believe the positive reception Darwin received while flying, saying, ‘Everyone was so excited to see her. I’ve never seen so many smiling people at an airport’
An overwhelming number of supporters on Tiktok expressed playful envy under the video that their own plane trips don’t feature such a cute dog
An overwhelming number of supporters on Tiktok were playfully jealous that their own plane trips didn’t include such a cute dog.
One person joked, “I am demanding an immediate refund for my recent flight, which unreasonably missed a Great Dane.”
Another wrote: “I don’t understand how anyone can hate a dog on a plane. I mean come on, IT’S A DANEN ON A PLANE.’
A third said, “Why can’t my seat be next to a Great Dane.”
People may have been shocked to see such a massive dog as Darwin on their flight, but some have been mystified 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 seen taking to the skies across America – including pigs, miniature horses, peacocks, chickens and even a kangaroo.