Olive's Flight Checklist, Written by a Nervous Owner

Olive is a one-year-old Schnauzer with strong opinions, and I am a 48-year-old who packs three days early. We flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok last month, and I wrote a list on my phone that I now consider essential.

Check the airline's pet policy twice, because the rules for cabin and cargo are not the same. Book the health certificate inside the window they require, not the week before. Pack a small bag with a leash, a collapsible bowl, poop bags, and a towel that smells like home. Olive walked through check-in with more dignity than I did.

The funny part: she rode in her carrier under the seat with one ear poking out, and tried to eat the in-flight napkin the moment the cart came past. The woman across the aisle was charmed. Nobody needed to know I had cried quietly during takeoff.