Rexo the Dog
by David Barth
August 12, 2002
This is an anecdote from a flight from Boise to Denver. In front of our coach seats sat an Air Force sergeant wearing civvies, with a muzzled German
Shepherd, "Rexo". I asked him why he had been able to bring the dog aboard instead of having it caged and stowed in baggage. He said that the Air Force mandates
that their dogs will not travel in baggage. Apparently, there have been some health problems with the dogs traveling below the passenger deck.
It makes sense to me not to split up a dog and his handler, anyway. The dog was a one-man dog, and probably wouldn't like to be separated from the handler. He
might raise hell locked in a cage in a dark, cold baggage compartment, and I couldn't blame him.
What amazed me is that this large, full-grown dog, trained to sniff for bombs, didn't have any extra room. The best the sergeant got was bulkhead in coach which
gave the dog room to lie down beneath the sergeant's seat and stretch his back paws, although the only advantage over a regular coach seat is that there
wouldn't be a seatback in front to tilt back. (Why couldn't some Air Force General cough up a few extra bills to put this guy and his dog in first class where
there is a lot more footroom? Obviously, a political hot-potato.)
With the dog's snout near my feet, I couldn't put my case or feet under the seat, but that was OK with me. Carol and I could watch the pup, making sure he was
OK. Had the flight been longer, I'm sure I could have slowly stretched my feet under the seat in front, sharing it with the dog's muzzle and large paws. As it was,
his muzzle was only a few inches from my feet. I didn't make any fast moves. I knew he couldn't bite, even though he was muzzled. I didn't want to startle and
upset him anymore than he already was. After takeoff, he settled down and seemed to doze.
It was interesting to me that Carol took to the dog right away, even though she still suffers mental anguish over the attack by two Rottweilers while she was on a
5 am jog, in the dark, 3 blocks from our home in February 1994. She really loves animals, and empathized with this dog.
The dog and his sergeant handler got aboard first. Not being used to strangers, when we got on, the 2-year old dog was hyperventilating, breathing very fast in the
muzzle. The sergeant, whose wife just had a new baby back home in Boise, was taking the dog to Kuwait for a 6-month tour of duty. He was not happy about going,
but duty called.
After the flight, we asked the sergeant if we could help him get to his next gate since he was unfamiliar with the airport, but he said he wanted to do it alone, so we
wished him well and went on our way. My thought was to go to the Red Carpet Club (I'm a life member) and arrange to have security get the handler and the dog
outside where the dog could relieve himself before they caught the flight to Philadelphia.
They were taking a FedEx (!) flight out of Dover Delaware to Kuwait. Sounds like they were trying to keep this action very low-key. I would have loved to know more,
but I didn't want to pry.
It was an interesting experience we won't forget. Godspeed Rexo!