An Entitled Dog Owner Ruined the Airport Experience — But She Deserved What I Did at the Gate

JFK was chaos.
Delayed flights, endless TSA lines, and tired travelers everywhere — a typical travel day. But amidst the usual airport buzz, a voice pierced through like a siren.

“Yeah, I told her I’m not doing that. Not my job. I don’t care if she cries.”

Heads turned. A woman in a bold red coat was loudly FaceTiming near Hudson News — no headphones, no shame. Her phone was held at arm’s length, voice sharp and disruptive.

Meanwhile, her tiny white dog squatted right in the middle of the walkway and left a mess on the tile floor, rhinestone-studded collar sparkling under the lights.

An elderly man in a beige cap approached gently:

“Miss, your dog…”

She didn’t let him finish.

“Some people are so damn rude,” she snapped.
“He’s staring at me like I killed someone. Mind your business, Grandpa.”

Another traveler called out:

“Ma’am, are you seriously not going to clean that up?”

She waved dismissively:

“That’s what janitors are for.”
And walked away, leaving everyone stunned.

The Middle: A Nightmare on Every Level

Later, at TSA, I saw her again.
She cut the line, dropped her oversized bag at the front, and declared:

“I have PreCheck. My dog gets nervous.”

A TSA agent pointed her to the correct line.

“This isn’t PreCheck.”

“I don’t care. I’m going through.”

Then came the shoe standoff.

“I’m not taking them off.”
“They’re boots, ma’am.”
“They’re slides. I’ll sue you.”

Eventually, she gave in — grumbling the entire time.
Her dog barked at everything — strollers, elderly travelers, even rolling luggage.

At the café, she snapped at the barista:

“I said almond milk. Are you deaf?”

“We only have oat or soy,” he replied gently.
“Whatever. You people are useless,” she barked, snatching the cup and storming off — music now blaring from her phone speaker.

The End: The Gate Trick

Finally, I reached Gate 22 — the Rome flight.
And there she was.
Still yelling into FaceTime. Still no headphones.
Still letting her dog bark at every child or stroller that passed. She spread herself across three seats — legs on one, bag on another, dog on the third.

People were drained.
A man muttered: “This can’t be real.”
Others moved away.
A couple whispered: “Is she on our flight?”

A toddler cried after being barked at.
No one said a word to her.
No one… except me.

I calmly sat right next to her.

She gave me a side-eye.
I smiled:

“Long day, huh?”

No reply. Her dog growled at my shoe.

“Cute pup.”
“He doesn’t like strangers.”
“I get it. Airports bring out the worst in people.”

She returned to her call. I waited. I had a plan.

As she argued over a lost bracelet or refund, her dog chewed on a plastic wrapper. No leash in sight.

An older couple nearby looked visibly tense. The man gripped a cane. The woman clutched their boarding passes. When the dog barked at them, they quietly stood and walked away.

That was it. I stood.

“What now?” she snapped.

“Just stretching,” I said, smiling.

I wandered a bit, then casually circled back and sat beside her again.

“Heading to Paris for fun or work?” I asked, sounding friendly.

“What?”

“Paris,” I nodded at the gate.
“Is this a vacation or a business trip?”

“I’m going to Rome.”

“Oh.” I pretended to check my phone.
“Weird. My app just said they moved the Rome flight to Gate 14B. Looks like this one’s for Paris now.”

She glanced at the monitor. It still clearly read ROME – ON TIME.

But she didn’t double-check. She mumbled:

“Unbelievable,”
threw her stuff in her bag, yanked the leash, and stormed off complaining.

No one tried to stop her. No one even looked up.
I leaned back. Silence. Glorious silence.

A few moments passed.

Then — a soft chuckle.
A girl gave me a thumbs-up.
A dad mouthed “thank you.”
Someone clapped. A child whispered “yay” and hugged her stuffed animal.

Even the gate agent smiled.

Rome only has one flight a day.
She missed it.
Oops.