45 Times Pet Owners Bypassed The NYC Subway Ban On Dogs

If we asked you to list 5 things better than having a pet, you probably wouldn’t be able to do that. There’s only a limited number of things in life that are better than having the love and companionship of a dog. Dogs are even more special when we’re adults living by ourselves in big cities. But, living in big cities and having pets can be quite tricky, especially because people rely so much on public transportations. Whenever you need to take your pet with you on a ride, you may face some trouble — such as having to get around New York City’s ban on dogs in subways. In New York since 2016, the Metro Transit Authority has banned pet owners from riding the subway with their pet unless the dog (or any other animal, really) is enclosed in a container, such as a bag. While the MTA probably meant carrying animals in specific crates, pet owners have found creative ways of dancing around this law, so to speak. In the cutest and most creative ways, here are 45 times pet owners got around the New York subway ban on dogs!

The most adorable face in the world!

To start off our list, we’re taking things slow. This next dog is not too large, but the subway ban didn’t exactly specify the size of dogs — whether they’re small or large dogs, they’ll still have to ride the subway while enclosed in a crate or bag.

The owner of this adorable friend put him inside a reusable shopping bag so that he could ride the subway with her. If the law didn’t say dogs had to be carried inside dog crates, any bag should do — and that’s exactly what this woman thought when she brought her beautiful dog to the subway in this shopping bag.

You have to be really strong for this!

One of the main issues of this ban on dogs is that it’s not always easy to carry a dog in a bag. If you have a smaller pet, this is not a problem — but if you have a big dog, you’ll have to put in a lot of physical effort to ride the subway with them.

In this picture, for instance, this man is carrying his adorable Husky in a shopping bag. While he makes it seem easy, a male Husky usually weighs somewhere between 45 and 60 pounds, so this guy is probably putting in a lot of effort to hold his dog like that. Oh, the things we do for love!

Don’t mind me, I’m just chilling!

Even though the Metro Transit Authority and a lot of subway riders are against having dogs riding the train, pet owners didn’t give in to the pressure. And it seems like the owners are not the only ones unbothered by these senseless laws!

See how unbothered that dog looks? It is just chilling inside a bag on his owner’s back. He probably loves it, if we’re being honest. He looks incredibly calm but also incredibly cute! We mean, look at that face — isn’t he the prettiest?

Is that really a bag, though?

If you stop to think about it, the subway rule says that animals have to be carried inside “containers” — but what does that really mean? The concept of a container is rather broad, and you can easily get around that.

This woman owns a larger dog, and it’s tough to carry a dog that size inside a crate, especially because she’s a small woman. Her creative way of getting around the subway ban was to make a custom plastic bag for her dog, and it looks great on him! 

I’m living my best life, bro!

If there’s one thing we know about dogs is that they all love to be free. These adorable creatures love running around and playing in open spaces. Because of that, some people may think that dogs feel uncomfortable having to be put inside bags.

Well, judging by this dog’s face, it doesn’t look like she’s uncomfortable at all! On the contrary, it looks like she’s having the time of her life being carried around to places by her owner. The bag fits her perfectly, and all she has to do is look pretty!

Two babies in bags!

If you think that carrying one dog in a bag is hard, imagine how hard it must be for this next woman, who’s carrying two adorable dogs herself! Luckily, the law doesn’t say anything about carrying a limited amount of animals, so she’s not doing anything wrong.

Both dogs are in bags, and they each look charming. The black dog is more than relaxed, taking a nap on the train. The white dog looks a bit shy about being in a bag, but his owner kindly reassures him that he’s fine. Kudos to this lady for having such pretty dogs!

I’m sleepy, mama!

As we’ve seen thus far in this article, most dogs in bags feel so comfortable, they actually fall asleep. This is great news for pet owners whose animals can get a bit upset when they’re in public spaces, like the subway. 

Smaller dogs tend to be louder, but they all get quiet and feel serene when they’re being carried around in bags. Proof of that is this adorable friend yawning as his human mom carries him in this stylish bag!

What are you looking at?

If you’re not from New York City, there is probably a bunch of stuff you’re not used to seeing regularly. The Big Apple is one of the most diverse cities in the world, so there are things you’ll only see when you’re here — like dogs being carried around the subway in bags!

Seeing a dog like that is a kind of unusual sight, especially for outsiders — and that’s why there are so many pics of pet owners carrying their dogs in bags. Sure, some people take pictures because they think the dogs look cute, but this one dog is not having it. It’s almost like he’s asking the person who took this photo if they’ve never seen a dog in a bag before!

I know I’m cute!

Above everything else, when we see dogs fitting into bags and being carried around by their owners, the first thing we notice is how cute they are. It’s kind of hard to even understand why this ban on dogs exists, considering they are the most adorable and innocent creatures on the planet!

Look at that adorable doggy — how is it possible that some subway riders think they should not ride trains? He’s not doing any harm to anyone. He’s just being his cute self and enjoying a piggyback ride inside of his bag!

Is it safe now, papa?

As we said before, dogs love having freedom. They love running around and playing with their toys. But when they’re inside bags, they get rather quiet, almost as if they know that they have to be quiet in certain situations.

Imagine you’re a cute dog, and you used to ride the train with your owner without having to be in a bag, and then suddenly, that becomes the norm. It’s understandable why some dogs look scared, just like the dog in the picture above. Hopefully, he’ll get used to being inside a bag whenever he’s on the train!

What a good boy!

You’ll probably agree with us that Shiba Inus are one of the cutest dog breeds ever. These dogs always look like they’re smiling and generally happy with life. And that’s true even when they’re stuck inside a bag just to ride the NYC subway!

Isn’t that the most adorable dog you’ve ever seen? Even though he’s inside a bag that barely fits him, this dog looks happy — and you can tell that’s true by the look in his eyes. We can only wish we had this positive energy in our lives!

So this is what baby slings are for?

While the NYC subway law says that animals have to be transported in containers, it’s pretty clear by now that New Yorkers have found quite a few different ways of getting around this law. It just shows how pet owners are willing to go to great distances just to have their beloved pets around!

This woman, for instance, couldn’t leave the apartment for the weekend and not take her babies with her. The only problem was that she didn’t have bags or other containers to take her dogs, so she came up with a makeshift baby sling and put both her dogs inside it! Technically, this is a container — it contains both dogs, after all!

You can’t stop me from riding the train!

Although the subway ban on dogs never specified which breeds or sizes of dogs were meant to be transported in containers, many people assumed that they created this ban specifically for larger dogs. However, it is pretty hard to transport a dog crate for larger dogs, like this Husky…

How would the owner manage to carry around his 45-pound dog inside a crate? It’s nearly impossible to do that, so he came up with a better solution. He found this playpen (which was originally his child’s) and decided to put the dog inside the playpen while they were on the train! This was a smart move, especially because these playpens can be disassembled quite easily.

Technically, the dog is in a bag.

When laws are not extensively detailed, it’s not that hard to find a breach. The law that established the ban on dogs in New York City left a lot of space open for interpretation, and pet owners used that to their advantage.

If the law says dogs have to be in bags but don’t specify the type of bag or how we should transport the dog, it’s pretty obvious that people will get around that law. This man decided to just put his gorgeous dog inside a plastic bag and be done with it — even still, he’s technically not breaking the law because his dog is inside a bag after all.

Mama, I love this ride!

As pet owners, we want to make sure that our pets feel loved and that they live a very happy life. Dogs are so adorable and innocent that we wish we could protect them from any harm, including the harm that is caused by a ban on dogs.

To bypass this law, this woman bought a trolley bag and put her dog inside it. The bag is completely open so that the dog won’t feel uncomfortable because of the heat. It is also quite spacious, so there’s plenty of room for the dog to stretch. She just didn’t expect her dog to love the trolley bag so much that it would want her to push him around everywhere!

Yay, vacation time!

More than just being house pets, dogs are an important part of our families. As such, we try to take our dogs with us whenever we go out for a while. When we’re planning a vacation, we also include our dogs — and they love it!

This adorable dog was more than happy to learn that his owner was going to take him for a weekend getaway. He was so happy that even the fact that he would have to ride the subway inside a bag didn’t bother him!

Why is everyone upside down?

When we look at some of these dogs, we can’t help but wonder how they manage to stay so quiet while riding the subway. We know for a fact that our dogs would not ever be that quiet, especially if we put them inside bags!

However, this adorable dog represents most dogs that would never stay quiet and composed inside a train while being stuck inside a bag. Rather than being quiet and observing his surroundings, this dog was really playful for the whole ride, even looking at people upside down at some point.

I’m a big baby!

Dogs are the cutest. Period. There’s no need for us to elaborate on a topic that everyone knows is true. Even still, we can’t help feeling giddy whenever we see pictures of adorable dogs being adorable. Check out this next dog and see what we mean!

This cute dog is one of the best things you’ll see today. Not only is he inside a bag — which is adorable in itself — but he is also being held up like a baby. If we were in the NYC subway, we would love to come across this dog and take a couple of pictures with him!

How strong is that guy?

When we look at pictures of dogs in bags at the NYC subway, it’s kind of hard to look at anything else. They’re so cute that they take all of our attention! But some dog owners do deserve to be praised for all the effort they’re putting in.

Some people use carriers to transport their dogs on the subway, but other owners decide to take a different route — they use backpacks to carry their dogs! Kudos to them because it’s not easy to walk around the city carrying a 60-pound dog on your back.

Who left this dog here?

Imagine you’re a New Yorker waiting for a train at the subway and just going about your day. Everything is normal until you see a bag on the floor. You walk closer to the bag, and, to your surprise, it moves. Suddenly, a dog pops his head out of the bag!

Yeah, that situation didn’t actually happen — but it would have been entertaining if it had. This dog was not left behind inside a bag on the subway. He was just waiting for the train, and his owner thought he looked adorable, so she took a picture of him!

Peek-a-boo!

When the subway ban on dogs was announced, lots of pet owners were caught by surprise. Most of them didn’t even have carriers to transport their dogs, so some owners had to improvise ways to bring their dogs to the subway. 

This man put his dog inside a suitcase and left it open so he could only peek outside — and it looks so cute. We’re out here gushing over this dog and the way it looks so happy that it is even smiling!

Such a good dog!

While some dogs don’t like being in closed spaces, some dogs absolutely love being carried around in bags. Some of them get so excited they can’t stop feeling playful during the train ride, but some dogs prefer to observe the people around them.

This dog, for instance, didn’t look like it even wanted to blink so he wouldn’t miss a thing. He kept looking around the train and interacting with the people who came near him. His bag was open, so he could have moved if he wanted, but he’s such a good boy that he just sat there obediently!

Feeling thoughtful!

They say that some dogs look like their owners, right? Well, this next dog certainly behaves like his owner as he rides the NYC subway while chilling inside a bag. The owner looks thoughtful as he waits to reach his destination, and so does the dog.

We wonder what the dog is thinking about, though. Maybe he’s wondering when he is going to get his next meal? Or is he dreaming about what he is going to have for dinner? Either way, the only thing we can think about is how incredibly cute this dog looks!

I just wanted to run free!

Imagine that you’re a dog and that you live in a big house, with plenty of space for you to run around. Whether you do it intentionally or unintentionally, you get used to living in such spacious places and being able to come and go as you please.

But then, once your human parent takes you out of the house for a day, and you have to take the train, you feel that freedom being taken away from you! We’re not sure if this is what happened to this dog, but it sure doesn’t look happy to be in a bag. We can only hope this dog got home quickly so he could start running around again!

So sleepy!

When the municipality installed the subway ban on dogs, the truth is that the pet owners who own small animals were not as bothered as those who own large animals. They were obviously upset — their dogs would have to be carried around in bags, after all — but things didn’t change that much for them.

Things didn’t change for the owners. But, for their dogs, it certainly felt different. Instead of having to walk around the subway, they started to carry them inside of bags. Don’t be worried. The dogs didn’t hate it. If the picture above is any indication, they actually loved it!

Just waiting for the train!

This next dog is just yet another four-legged New Yorker that was affected by the subway ban on dogs. He’s such a gracious dog that he did not let the ban get to him and just went with the flow.

This adorable friend is just chilling in his bag, waiting for the train to arrive so he can get home. While he’s not exactly a small dog, this cutie is lucky that his owner looks strong and unbothered as he supports the bag on his shoulder.

That’s my baby and I’m proud!

If you’re a pet owner or if you know pet owners, you know just how mushy we can get when the topic at hand is dogs (and other animals). It’s not our fault that animals are the cutest and purest creatures on the planet, and we love them endlessly. 

We can’t stop gushing about how pretty and how smart they are — we’re just so proud of our dogs. This guy was riding the subway with his precious pooch and noticed that it looked adorable in his bag. As every other pet owner, he couldn’t help but stop just to take a picture of his baby, and you can totally tell he looks proud!

Well…it’s a bag!

If you stop to think about the NYC subway ban on dogs, there are different ways that pet owners can bypass this ban. That is only possible because the ban wasn’t clear on what type of “bag” the animal would have to be carried in, and New Yorkers took full advantage of that!

While some people bought dog crates so they could carry them, other pet owners used the most random bags just to continue riding the subway with their dogs. This woman, for instance, grabbed a tote bag from the local market and put her baby inside it!

Our hearts can’t take this cuteness!

While most dogs on our list so far have been adult dogs, the next one is an adorable puppy. The subway ban must have been surprising for older dogs, as they were already used to riding the train without needing to be inside a bag.

However, puppies have not been as affected by this ban as they were born after the ban was installed. As we can see by the look on this puppy’s face, he’s certainly not complaining that he has to be inside a bag for the train ride!

I’m the king of the subway!

It’s kind of obvious that not all dogs were okay with having to be carried around in bags. Some dogs absolutely hate the idea of being in enclosed spaces, and so their owners stopped bringing them to the subway. Other dogs, however, felt on top of the world.

This dog is the perfect example of that. Not only did he love that he would get to be carried around by his owner, but he also loved that he got his own customized tote bag with his face printed on it. Judging by his face, this dog is feeling like the king of the subway!

Matching bags!

Talking about the NYC subway ban on dogs is merely an excuse to gush over cute dogs. It’s not our fault that dogs are naturally pretty and that they get even cuter when they’re riding the subway inside bags.

But if we’re talking about cuteness, we couldn’t keep the picture above out of this article. First of all, the matching bags and the color palette are really aesthetically pleasing. But what really got our attention is that the dogs are opposites not only in color but also in moods — one looks quite happy while the other is just done with the whole thing!

Bedtime story!

Some children love listening to bedtime stories before they fall asleep. This is a great way of helping a child develop a liking for literature — but who said that children are the only ones who enjoy bedtime stories? Check this out.

It’s pretty obvious that this dog loves listening to stories about as much as children do. Instead of calling it a bedtime story, we would call it a subway time story. Despite the quality of the image, you can tell that his eyes are droopy, and he loves every second of it, even though he’s inside a bag!

Great idea, Ikea!

If you need something for your home, you can always count on Ikea to have it. It’s no wonder that this Swedish company is the largest furniture company in the whole world. But they don’t only sell furniture — they also sell other useful products, such as dog bags!

When the NYC subway ban came around, many companies saw a perfect opportunity to sell a product that would be in high demand real soon — dog bags. We can’t deny that this bag looks quite comfortable, and it makes the dog look cute!

What a handsome boy!

This adorable dog was just resting inside a bag on his owner’s lap in the next picture. If you live in New York, this would certainly be a pretty common sight. But if you pay close attention to the dog, you’ll understand why it caught our attention.

Not only is this dog chilling inside a bag, but he is also looking quite pretty as he stares straight into the camera. If you look into his eyes, you’ll see that they have different colors! One of his eyes is brown, while the other one is blue. This condition is called heterochromia, and it’s actually quite common among Huskies.

He looks so pensive!

Do you ever look at dogs and wonder what’s going on in their heads? What are their thoughts and feelings? We sure would love to know what our dogs are thinking sometimes. It certainly would make it easier for us to cater to their wishes and make sure they were always happy.

Just by looking at this dog, we already want to know what he’s thinking about. We guess that he’s either thinking about getting home and finally getting out of that bag, or he’s thinking about food. Or toys. Yeah, dogs love all of that so that it could be anything, really.

What a cute…head?

If you return to the top of this article and look at the pictures one more time, you will notice that there’s something in common in a lot of them. And no, we’re not talking about the fact that all dogs are inside bags!

We’re actually talking about dogs keeping only their heads out of the bag and looking at their surroundings. Isn’t that incredibly cute? Imagine being on the train and looking to the person beside you only to find a furry head looking at you with these doe eyes? Our hearts would certainly melt instantly!

I love being the center of attention!

If there’s one trait that most dogs share, it’s that they love attention. There’s a reason why they love showing us their tricks — well, that and the fact that they want to get snacks! With that in mind, we’re certain that this dog was having the time of its life.

Maybe those people are not New Yorkers, and that’s why they’re amazed by the sight of a dog being carried around inside a bag. Or maybe they’re simply gushing over how cute this dog is. Regardless of the reason, this dog most definitely loves the attention!

Mommy, you’re embarrassing me!

If you have children, you know how they get embarrassed at everything you do as they get older. If you hug your kid in front of their friends, they’ll be mortified. Apparently, kids and teenagers are not the only ones who feel that way!

This woman was about to leave her apartment and walk to the nearest train station. However, before she left the apartment, she just had to take a picture of how cute her baby boy looked. And as we can tell by his face, he felt quite embarrassed by his mother’s antics!

Does that really classify as a bag?

It’s not exactly news that dog owners in New York found different ways of pushing the subway ban on dogs to its limit. They pushed it by using different bags to carry their dogs instead of dog crates, as the law never really specified what type of “container” they should use.

While most people still stuck to the ban by using actual bags (shopping bags, duffel bags, backpacks, and others), this guy decided to try his luck and see if he could get away with putting his dog inside a pillowcase. And, apparently, it worked!

I just wanna get home and play with my toys.

This next dog doesn’t look at all like he’s enjoying the train ride. It’s either that or maybe his face just looks like that all the time, which would not be surprising, considering he’s a Basset Hound, and they always look droopy.

Even though the Ikea dog bag has plenty of room for ventilation and doesn’t look that uncomfortable, it’s kind of obvious that dogs don’t appreciate being stuck inside a bag. We bet that all this dog can think about is getting home and being able to stretch his legs!

What did he see?

We’re nearing the end of this article, and we’re sure that most dogs we showed looked relaxed. Some of them looked slightly annoyed due to being inside a bag, but they were all mostly chilling. Well, this next dog is here to change that!

This Pug looks like he’s anything but relaxed. He could be looking scared like that because he’s inside this bag, but we highly doubt that. With the way he’s looking to his side, it kind of reminds us of horror movies — and we can only imagine he does not see something he likes!

I’m too big for this!

Most dogs we’ve shown you in this article were small breeds. The largest dogs were not that big, so it probably wasn’t that difficult for their owners to carry them in those bags. And also, the dogs were probably not embarrassed to be inside bags.

But this dog would beg to differ. He’s a Pitbull, and we all know that these dogs are naturally big and bulky. As such, we can guess that these dogs probably hate being carried around in a bag as if they were babies. Well, at least that’s what we got from this dog’s face!

There’s a package for you!

Unlike the Pitbull we just showed you, this Corgi is happy beyond words to be inside a bag in the subway. Well, Walter — that’s this Instagram dog’s name — is a true New Yorker, so he’s probably already used to the shenanigans of his hometown.

This picture was taken inside the subway car late at night, which is why there aren’t many people around. Even still, Walter was happy that he was the center of attention of his owners. When they decided to take his picture, Walter couldn’t hold back the smile that appeared on its face!

Yes, this is quite comfortable.

If you haven’t been to New York City yet, you must have at least heard stories about this city. There are so many things going on in NYC that New Yorkers are basically unfazed by everything — even when they see a Siberian Husky inside a train, comfortably supporting himself on his owner’s back!

Up to this point, no other dog on our list looked quite as comfortable as this next dog. Even though he’s a big boy, he’s chilling on his owner’s back as if he’s lying on a bed. We wonder if this feels as comfortable for the owner, though!

It’s not a bag, but it’s certainly a container!

Most pet owners on this list found creative ways of obeying the NYC subway ban on dogs while still not obeying it. After all, we can all agree that when the MTA created this ban and stated that dogs had to be carried in containers. They didn’t mean shopping bags.

While the MTA also didn’t mean baby strollers, this is the closest we’ll get to the dog container that they originally meant. This guy was brilliant in buying this stroller for his two dogs. It looks more comfortable for the dogs than shopping bags, but the downside is that this guy will always have to wait for an almost empty train to fit this huge thing!