On the subject of chihuahuas, a few years ago while on the TE, a woman got on at Fort Worth with her boyfriend, a baby, a young boy of about 10 years old, and a service chihuahua. I'm sure it was a service dog, because as we all know that only service dogs are allowed on Amtrak, right??
At any rate, the entourage all boarded the same sleeper car I and my uncle were in. Oh great, I thought to myself, here comes the non-stop yapping.
I never heard so much as a yip out of the dog at all. Never seen a more calm, serene chihuahua in my life. Never a yip, as I said, from the time the train was held up at Fort Worth so she and her entourage could board the train with enough luggage to have serviced an entire Army platoon, until she got off in California (Ontario, I think). The dog was absolutely no problem The woman??? Well, she was a different case. One of the oddest people I've ever met. It will suffice to say she boarded the train with a man whom she obviously had great affection for, and got off the train with another man she'd meet onboard, with whom she had quickly added an equally great affection for. And that was the capper of a long list of nutty behavior on her part. I'd have kept the dog and booted the woman. :lol:
As for pets on Amtrak, I guess it's easy for me to say this from a neutral position, as I'm not allowed to have pets where I live, but I don't have much problem with small, crated animals for short distances. If I did have a pet, I'd never take it with me. That's what I have my mother for, for pet-sitting duties! :lol: I do know how much it can cost to board pets. My mom had cats, and she said oftentimes it cost her more to board them than it did to pay for plane tickets when she'd fly out to my uncle's from Spokane to Illinois. So that part I can sympathize with. For short distances, and for a trial basis, and for restrictions and added fees, why not? Of course, that's easy for me to say since I will probably never travel to Quincy from Chicago on Amtrak, either. :lol: