DogFriendly.com Says "Dogs On Amtrak - The Time is Now"

ANCHOR POINT, Alaska - May 23, 2013 - PRLog -- When it comes to traveling with dogs the only realistic options today in the United States are driving yourself or flying. The nation’s main bus line Greyhound does not allow dogs, even small ones. Nor does Amtrak, the government subsidized and controlled passenger train lines. For a trip with a dog from Washington D.C. to New York City a person today must, for all practical purposes, drive. This uses a lot of gas, costs much more, hurts the environment and adds traffic on the highways and, on arrival in New York, adds to city congestion. Why? Because Amtrak, which is subsidized by tax money, doesn't allow any dogs. It would be so much simpler to hop on the train at Union Station, spend three hours on a train, and disembark at Penn Station in New York.

In Europe, dogs are allowed on most trains. You can buy them a ticket and bring them with a leash onto the train with you. At the stations, you can take the dog out while the train is stopped. Dogs are in carriers or they are on leashes; The traveler chooses. Small dogs and larger dogs are allowed. You can cross Europe on the train with your dog. The time is now for Amtrak to step up to the plate, designate a car for dogs and allow dogs on the train. DogFriendly.com strongly supports such a service.

Unfortunately, it seems that it will take an act of Congress to force Amtrak to allow dogs. Fortunately, at least four congressmen are willing to introduce a bill to do just that. Led by Jeff Denham of California they have proposed a bill that would require Amtrak to allow dogs.

"Leashed dogs of all sizes have been allowed on trains throughout Europe as well as some commuter train lines here." says Len Kain, Editor of DogFriendly.com. "There is no reason why we can't allow dogs to travel on trains here in America. This is not a untested idea."

It’s not only the Europeans that allow dogs on trains. The Boston Subway has allowed leashed dogs for years. As have the Boston Commuter Trains, the Metro North Line from Grand Central Station in New York, the Seattle Commuter Trains, MUNI in San Francisco and Toronto's trains. And dogs are allowed on many ferries as well. And on most of these systems pets are not restricted to one car or to kennels.

The current bill, as proposed, would restrict pets to one car. The dogs and cats would need to remain in a kennel and the total trip could not be longer than 750 miles. There would be a fee for each dog or cat. While we would like to see more access, such as leashed dogs with a requirement that a muzzle be available if need be, we will be happy with any starting plan that allows both smaller and larger dogs on Amtrak in the passenger car. We as people who travel with pets should support this effort. Traveling with your dog may get simpler.