What with all the airline luggage restrictions, I am under pressure to travel light so we have spent a good amount of time searching for the perfect travel bag for me. After much investigation, my first advice is to avoid the internet for this shopping because pet bags are more like shoes than bags: they really must be tried on. (This tip comes after return charges in an unsuccessful order. G not happy.)
I was gifted the bag in the photo on my left. It is AKC certified for airplane cabins, and it is quite nice for serious travel. It opens at the top and on the sides so I can poke my head out, there is netting all around so I can see out (and be seen) when it is zipped and it is roomy enough to be comfortable for an extended period of time. It is also quite a nice match for my coloring. (A lovely young woman G met in Washington Square Park gave this to me. She bought it for her puppy who was only able to use it once. We met him just a few days after she had carried him home in it and he had already outgrown it. Clearly she didn’t know to check out the size of his paws but, not to worry, they are very happy together and he readily jumps into a tote when they travel on the subway.) This bag is good in the car too, and we will use it when we begin that part of the adventure in Dover, England.
However, that bag is not the best for sightseeing, going to restaurants or, most important, shopping. It is unwieldy for the person carrying me because the soft construction doesn’t work well with a shoulder strap and, while the soft sides are comfy at rest, I shift around when carried.
So we purchased bag number two pictured on my right. (We bought it at a great store called Canine Styles which has several Manhattan locations and also an online store.) It looks much more like a handbag and B is considering using it as that for the airplane part of the trip. It has something of the look of the early Kate Spade bags which is her usual travel purse, and will easily hold her Kindle, knitting and needlepoint in the outside pocket, and make room in her luggage for more easily folded things. When we land she could put me in it. I really like this bag. I am right up next to B or G and prefer the eye level of this to the other one. Moreover, I think it is a more refined way to travel from the airport into Paris.