top of page
Anna Kotlan

Dogs in Bags


A New York City rule which came into place last year forbids passengers from carrying their pets onto the city's comprehensive subway system - unless their animals can fit into a bag. But pet owners are nothing if not creative, and they have found wonderfully innovative ways to skirt this rule. According to the MTA’s site, if the animal can be brought by its owner “enclosed in a container and carried in a manner which would not annoy other passengers” then it, too, can ride through New York’s underground alleys.

Twitter has been flooded with images of dogs hanging out in bags, from giant blue IKEA shopping bags to canvas tote bags, suitcases, hiking backpacks, and more. Since the rule was implemented, subway riders have gone to great lengths to prove their pet belongs on the subway. The rule states that: “no person may bring any animal on or into any conveyance or facility unless enclosed in a container”. However, this rule says nothing about the animal's size - and some people have gotten creative to avoid a fine.

MTA rules state dogs must be ‘enclosed in a container’, but one conductor seems to think a dog in a sack pushes that definition. In 2016, the Metro Transit Authority (MTA) in New York banned people from bringing their pets on the subway. The only exception was for animals “enclosed in a container and carried in a manner which would not annoy other passengers”. While the MTA probably meant dogs carried in purpose-built crates, they are now being held in bags and rucksacks; there was even a dog in a burlap sack. The rule has led to a beautiful mass transit phenomenon -- enormous dogs lodged in tiny bags.


Comments


bottom of page