Latest news with #Luccas
Newsweek
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Woman Takes Service Dog on Flight, Nobody Prepared for What Breed It Is
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Service dogs on flights are not uncommon, but, while they are usually smaller to midsize breeds, one woman has stunned internet users with her service animal. Pietra Luccas, 27, was flying from San Francisco, California, to Miami, Florida, in April with some friends and her service dog, Charlie. However, this is no small lapdog, although he may think he is, but rather, the largest dog breed of all. That's right: Charlie is a 4-year-old Great Dane and certainly requires plenty of space. The towering dog undoubtedly captures attention wherever he goes. Luccas, who resides in San Francisco, told Newsweek that people in the airport, cabin crew, and many fellow passengers are "always extremely happy to see Charlie" whenever she travels with him. Luccas shared footage of the moment she and Charlie boarded a Delta flight on Instagram (@pietra_luccas), and the clip went viral with over 45.6 million views and more than 1 million likes at the time of writing. Pietra Luccas, 27, boards a Delta flight from San Francisco with her Great Dane service dog. Pietra Luccas, 27, boards a Delta flight from San Francisco with her Great Dane service dog. @pietra_luccas / Instagram "I didn't have any difficulty getting him on board," Luccas said. "I always buy three seats, but, in this case, the cabin crew wanted me to have the front seat with more leg room for Charlie." She continued: "There are passengers who don't like it, and I understand that. But that's why I buy the three seats for us. During the flight, Charlie is trained to be quiet. He pretty much sleeps most of the time." As of March 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals by The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and they must be trained to work or perform tasks for a handler with a disability. This may include guiding someone who is blind; pulling a wheelchair; calming a person during an anxiety attack; or reminding them to take medication. Service dogs are permitted to accompany their handler in public spaces where people are allowed, but they must be under control. While staff aren't permitted to ask about a person's disability, they can ask if the dog is a service animal, and what work or task they are trained to perform. They cannot ask for the dog to demonstrate this, however. Allergies or fears are not valid reasons to deny access to someone with a service animal, the ADA states. Luccas said that, before flying with Charlie, she checks with the airline to ensure that his training and documentation allow him to travel. Once people overcome the shock at seeing Charlie's size, they often try to pet the service dog. However, Luccas told Newsweek that she always tries to prevent anyone from doing so, "since he is working" and shouldn't be distracted. For those who aren't happy about her taking a Great Dane on flights, Luccas said that he "is a need" for her, and she isn't fazed by their opinions. "When you're flying from a public airport, you have to accept other people's needs. I have a hard time having to spend six hours inside a plane with kids crying, but I also understand the situation. You don't have to like it, but you do have to respect it," Luccas continued. Since the video of Charlie went viral on Instagram, it has gained more than 26,600 comments in just a matter of days. One comment reads: "I mean, at this point, that's a whole ticket." Another Instagram user wrote: "Who brings a horse on an airplane?" A third person joked: "I'm OK as long as she sits next to me!" One comment read: "This should not be allowed … this is getting ridiculous." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@ and they could appear on our site.
New York Post
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Sexy influencer brings huge dog as a service animal on flight — here's how passengers reacted
Frequent flyers of the friendly skies are not feeling this fox and her huge hound. Curses and epithets are being hurled at a social media smoke-show who hauled her humongous Great Dane, an alleged service animal, onto an airplane. 4 Pietra Luccas, a fashion influencer from San Francisco, is currently in the eye of the internet's ire for bringing her tremendously large dog onto an airplane as her service animal. Instagram/greatcharliedane Advertisement 'I love dogs but this is ridiculous,' barked a vexed viewer beneath Instagram influencer Piêtra Luccas' viral vid, which has garnered nearly 46 million clicks. The clip kicks off with her approaching the cabin door to the United Airlines flight and seemingly startling the flight attendants, with one greeting her, 'Well, hello! I've been hearing about this guy.' Luccas pauses to respond that she wanted to note that she's 'seated around people' and she wanted to 'make sure they are OK' with the situation. Advertisement 'The supervisor talked to everyone and explained everything, so …' the crew member replied, to which the person filming behind Luccas responded, 'It's going to be fine' before they entered the plane as seated — and smiling — passengers gawked. However, the interaction set off a tidal wave of online tsk-tsking. 'How f'ing rude can you be to burden everyone else with your selfishness,' an equally huffy commenter howled about what someone else labeled 'attention-seeking behavior.' 'Who brings a horse on an airplane?' another spat, referencing the dog's gargantuan build. Advertisement But they're not just picking on the pinup's supersized pup. 4 Great Danes like the one pictured here are described as gentle and elegant dogs weighing up to 175 pounds. svetograph – A male Great Dane can reach up to 32 inches at the shoulder and weigh a massive 175 pounds, according to the American Kennel Club. The experts note, however, that despite the breed's jumbo size, Great Danes are 'elegant, and even regal in their gait and disposition.' Advertisement Still, it seems that persnickety travelers don't want to see the gentle giants at their airport gates. 4 Commenters wondered how people who are afraid of dogs or allergic to their dander survived the flight with Luccas' Great Dane. Aliaksandr Marko – A separate Great Dane received a ruff welcome upon boarding a flight in December. Peeved passengers and flight attendants rolled their eyes at the sight of the hulking animal as he sniffed around for his assigned seat. Gabriel Bogner, a 27-year-old content creator, recently caught flak, too, for carting his 140-pound Great Dane, Darwin, onto an Airbus from Los Angeles to New York City. The four-legged hulk, who required multiple seats for comfort during the cross-country trip, acts as a service animal to Bogner, who lives with Crohn's disease. 4 Great Danes on planes can find themselves on the business end of social media's backlash. dmussman – But when it comes to Luccas' helper pooch, Charlie, skeptics seem to doubt that the dog's really there to help her out. 'She knows damn well that's not a service dog,' a cyber cynic spat. Advertisement 'I can't stand that!!! She doesn't even need it, not a service dog,' another scoffed. 'She just wants the attention!!!' 'The absolute narcissism of the day. People exploiting [accommodations made] for the truly disabled, claiming 'hidden disabilities' like stress, anxiety and claustrophobia to justify imposing on EVERYONE else in the world to bring their pets with them everywhere pets are not supposed to be,' ranted an outraged hater. Advertisement 'This woman's Instagram makes it absolutely clear she is a healthy, able-bodied person and the dog is her pet,' the incensed commenter continued. 'Airlines need to do better. People need to demand better. 'What a bad person.'
