Flying with a pet
on Porter Airlines.

Ordinary pets: cabin only, with limited spaces

Porter accepts small dogs and house cats in the cabin, with no ordinary-pet carriage in the baggage hold. Its published flightwide limit is two pets. Each passenger may bring one carrier containing one animal; buying another passenger seat does not establish a larger personal allowance.

Reserve at booking or call 1-888-619-8622 at least 24 hours before departure. The listed charge is CAD/USD 50 plus applicable tax, shown as 50–57.50 per pet, per direction. Confirm the booking currency.

Pet fees are non-refundable.

This policy covers Porter-operated flights. Obtain each partner airline’s acceptance for codeshare/interline sectors.

No separate aircraft-specific quota or aircraft-wide prohibition on cats and dogs sharing a flight was verified. This does not permit mixed-species sharing inside a carrier. Confirm the actual aircraft, each connection and the return sectors before paying.

Sources: Porter pet fees · Porter cabin-pet policy.

Carrier fit, baggage and passenger restrictions

Use a soft-sided, ventilated, leak-proof carrier, maximum 55 × 40 × 27 cm, length × width × height. The animal must stand, turn and lie comfortably inside. Keep it enclosed after security screening through arrival, and under the seat on board; oversized carriers can be refused.

It replaces the standard carry-on; one additional personal item up to 33 × 43 × 16 cm is allowed. Pets need an adult fare-paying companion and cannot accompany unaccompanied minors, passengers with infants, registered attendants, passengers using under-seat medical equipment, or exit-row occupants.

A universal minimum pet age and a breed-exclusion list were not verified. Ask Porter about your animal’s age, breed/cross and health rather than treating missing restrictions as permission.

The public pet page omits a numeric weight cap.

An indexed official International Tariff, Rule 11A(d), still specifies 9 kg/20 lb for animal plus carrier. Its applicable version could not be reconciled with the webpage. Obtain route-specific written weight confirmation; do not interpret omission as unlimited weight.

Sources: Porter cabin-pet policy · Porter international tariff.

Protect the pet booking when plans change

Porter encourages registering the pet within 24 hours after buying the ticket: if space is unavailable, its FAQ offers a change without a change fee, with fare difference possible, or a refund without charge. This is different from giving notice 24 hours before departure.

Use the Call Centre to coordinate changes to a direct booking and its pet reservation. For agency bookings, have the agent check pet space before changing the flight, then contact Porter immediately to update the pet reservation. Availability must be rechecked.

For domestic ordinary-pet travel, the FAQ says a health certificate is not required. International documentation is a separate check.

Collect boarding passes at the counter, including after online check-in; arrive at least 90 minutes early.

Ask about any earlier airport-specific arrival requirement, relief areas and a safe connection interval. Keep the animal reservation, measurements and confirmed documents with the passenger itinerary.

Sources: Porter pet FAQ · Porter cabin-pet policy.

Service dogs: resolve the training rules for your route

Porter’s general page requests a training-institution certificate 48 hours ahead and names Assistance Dogs International (ADI) accreditation. Dogs outside ADI/International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) programs, or online-trained, are generally not accepted but assessed case-by-case. Accepted service dogs travel without charge; dogs still in training are excluded.

Canada’s CTA describes task training by an organization or individual specializing in service-dog training. That regulatory definition is broader than an ADI-only test.

Porter’s general wording does not resolve every individually trained dog’s case. Ask its Disability Assistance Desk to apply the rules for your specific route. Do not treat a purchased registration, a foreign public-access certificate or a Canadian border category as automatic airline approval.

Request assistance through Passenger Details during booking, My Bookings afterwards, or the Disability Assistance Desk: 1-855-542-3707, TTY 711, disabilityassistance@flyporter.com. Porter’s FAQ requests 48-hour notice for emotional-support or psychiatric-service-animal assistance and promises reasonable efforts for late requests.

For Canada–other-country itineraries, have Porter identify the accepted training evidence, every operating carrier’s requirements and any extra-space charge. U.S. paperwork does not automatically establish recognition on a separate non-U.S. sector.

Sources: Porter service-dog policy · CTA service-dog guidance · Porter assistance requests.

U.S. flights: DOT forms and individual trainers

To/from the U.S., Porter asks for a signed, dated DOT form 48 hours before departure; passengers booking within 48 hours may present it at the airport.

Porter’s hosted form accepts the individual or organization that supplied task and behaviour training. If the handler trained the dog, the handler may provide their own contact details. The instructions do not require a training certificate. They require health/vaccination details and separate task-training and public-behaviour attestations.

U.S. rules restrict additional service-dog documentation beyond the DOT forms, apart from government animal-transport requirements. The relief attestation may be required for a flight segment of eight hours or more. Ask which forms the actual carrier needs; do not automatically add Porter’s general institutional-certificate or lap-related medical-letter requirement to a U.S. booking.

The U.S. rule permits a limit of two service dogs per passenger. This is separate from Porter’s two-pet flightwide quota.

DOT recognizes task-trained psychiatric service dogs, but emotional-support animals and dogs still in training are outside that category. If accommodation is disputed, ask the airline for its Complaints Resolution Official.

Sources: Porter service-dog policy · Porter-hosted DOT form · U.S. service-dog document rule · U.S. service-dog count rule · DOT service-dog guidance.

Placement, control and the airport

Porter requires suitable harnessing and handler control, with no animal occupying a seat or exit row. Aggressive or disruptive animals can be refused. Its general lap provision is for an infant-sized dog with a medical need letter submitted 48 hours ahead.

Under Canadian guidance, necessary adjacent floor space is provided without an extra fare on domestic travel; international extra seating may be charged. Discuss the dog’s dimensions and your needs before booking.

For U.S. flights, safe lap or foot-space placement is allowed without encroaching on another passenger. If a large dog cannot fit, the airline must first consider available seating elsewhere in the same class.

DOT permits refusals for direct safety threats, serious disruption, incompatible size or health-entry requirements; disruptive, untrained behaviour is not protected.

Porter’s assistance FAQ asks passengers to arrive at least 90 minutes early and identify their assistance needs at check-in.

A Porter-specific non-U.S. service-dog numerical cap or blanket muzzle rule was not verified. Confirm the number of dogs, harness/leash arrangements, any muzzle condition, relief plan and placement for each sector. Never assume an ordinary-pet weight or carrier limit also governs a recognized service dog.

Sources: Porter service-dog policy · CTA service-dog guidance · U.S. service-dog placement rule · DOT service-dog guidance · Porter assistance requests.

Emotional-support dogs have a separate pathway

Within Canada, Porter keeps emotional-support dogs in an approved carrier throughout travel. To the U.S., they use paid pet carriage, subject to space. Porter asks for a medical/mental-health professional’s letter issued within a year; follow its full content requirements and obtain validation before travel.

CTA guidance adds a veterinary certificate identifying dog and traveller, addressing fitness, vaccinations, parasites and known inappropriate behaviour. Unless local rules prescribe otherwise, it must be dated within two months before initial travel. Submit the medical and veterinary evidence at least 96 hours ahead; late requests require reasonable efforts. The dog must fit comfortably in its approved under-seat carrier throughout the flight and meet entry/exit requirements. Qualifying accommodation under these conditions is free.

Do not rely on Porter’s shorter webpage description as the complete Canadian document checklist. Confirm the applicable pathway and fee treatment with the assistance desk; emotional support is not task-trained service-dog status.

Sources: Porter service-dog policy · CTA service-dog guidance.

Government entry is a separate decision

For dogs that spent the preceding six months only in dog-rabies-free or low-risk countries, CDC requires its Dog Import Form receipt, age of at least six months, a detectable microchip and healthy appearance. The receipt is the sole CDC document for this pathway; other authorities and airlines can have additional requirements. A high-risk-country history needs a different assessment.

Porter’s page lists U.S. pets’ health certificates and rabies vaccination within 12 months. Confirm carrier documents; this is not a universal CDC rule.

For Canada, use CFIA’s tool with the animal’s species, age, origin and import purpose, including its separate assistance-dog branch.

Check government requirements for every destination, transit and return country. Airline recognition, animal-health entry and public-access rights are different decisions. A service-dog approval is not a blanket quarantine or import-document exemption.

Sources: CDC low-risk dog entry · Porter cabin-pet policy · CFIA animal-entry tool.

Before paying, keep the unanswered questions together

Record the operating flights and aircraft, confirmed animal space, applicable weight decision, approved carrier or service-dog floor space, accepted training evidence, forms and submission deadlines, fees and country-entry pathway. Resolve conflicting wording directly with the responsible airline team.

Use the journey worksheet and connection guide. Send health or identity documents only through the airline’s verified submission channel.

Related planning

Related reading: Canada and service dogs · Service-dog reference · Carrier planning.

Official sources and scope

• Porter cabin-pet policy
• Porter pet fees
• Porter pet FAQ
• Porter international tariff
• Porter service-dog policy
• Porter assistance requests
• Porter-hosted DOT form
• CTA service-dog guidance
• DOT service-dog guidance
• U.S. service-dog count rule
• U.S. service-dog document rule
• U.S. service-dog placement rule
• CDC low-risk dog entry
• CFIA animal-entry tool

Official-source reference checked on the date shown. The airline material reviewed included indexed official pages and a dated tariff copy; unresolved differences are identified above. Confirm the current operating-carrier decision and government requirements for the complete journey.