A golden retriever’s pure joy while flying business class has captured hearts on social media, after a video of the moment went viral.
The clip, shared on Instagram on Wednesday under the username @merlotthegoldie, shows the dog bounding over his owner on the way to his seat, wearing the biggest smile on his face. His excitement is obvious as he heads down the aisle, clearly thrilled to be flying business class.
Text over the video reads: “The most excited Business Class passenger today.” The caption adds to the charm, saying: “Nobody on this plane is happier to be here than him. Nobody. Not even close. The excitement is uncontainable. The tail is a safety hazard. The smile is permanent.”
Behind the viral video are the poster Uğur Ozdemir, who is the owner of the pup, and Marisa Hoskins, founder of Paws Abroad, a pet travel platform that offers personalized travel plans based on pet and route, as well as digital pet passports—or pawsports.
Hoskins told Newsweek that the idea for the company came from her own difficult experiences traveling internationally with animals.
“I launched Paws Abroad, with my co-founder/brother after experiencing the nightmare that is international pet travel multiple times myself (I actually adopted my pups in Hong Kong and we’ve also lived in Canada, Thailand and Portugal together!),” she said.
The star of the video is Merlot, a golden retriever owned by Ozdemir from the Netherlands, who told Newsweek that Merlot is not just a well-loved pet, but also a certified medical alert service dog who accompanies him on frequent trips.
“Merlot is my golden retriever and a certified medical alert service dog. He travels with me frequently, especially on international routes, since I have a health condition that requires his support,” Ozdemir said.
The business-class flight shown in the video was one of those necessary journeys. What made it stand out was Merlot’s reaction to the experience.
“What made it special—and probably why people connected with it—is that despite being ‘on duty,’ he still has these very humanlike, funny moments when I let him to do so,” the poster said.
Ozdemir added that the clip captured Merlot enjoying his first time in Turkish Airline’s spacious business cabin. Despite the excitement, the poster said that the dog remains highly trained and professional.
“But, overall, he’s extremely well-trained and takes his role very seriously,” Ozdemir said, adding that viewers seem to love the contrast between Merlot’s serious responsibilities and his occasional playful moments.
Through sharing the canine’s journey, Ozdemir hopes to highlight that traveling with larger service dogs is possible and to make the process less intimidating for others.
The video’s cheerful energy struck a chord with viewers almost instantly. Since being posted, it has received more than 120,000 views and over 5.300 likes, with many users calling the moment “precious” and sharing the clip widely across the platform.
One user, Billalthouse, commented: “He would make my airplane experience much more enjoyable!!”
Luxframe_velora added: “Omg [oh my God] so cute and sweet.”
Emchugh90 said: “Precious.”
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