kolkata dont be surprised if you board a first ac compartment and are greeted by a woof the most luxurious coaches on indian trains are going to the dogspet lovers no longer satisfied with booking their pooches as luggage on planes or trains now prefer to book airconditioned berths for them railway rules allow firstclass ac and first class passengers to take their pets along provided they book the entire coupe of two or four berthsa kolkatabased actor of international acclaim and his wife take their dog along every time they go on vacation they prefer to travel by train rather than take a flight as they are not comfortable with the concept of a dogbox they book a twoberth first ac coupe and take their dog along the pet is booked first though at times either the actor or his wife travel alone with the dog one berth remains vacant on such occasions they say their dog is not used to spending time by itself and may suffer trauma if locked up in a cage in the cargo section of a plane or the brake van of a train a railway officer saidairlines treat pets as extra baggage and the passenger has to get his own kennel depending upon the size of the animal payment has to be made according to weight the railways provides dogboxes of a particular size and the minimum amount payable is rs 30 per dog the train guard whose compartment is attached with the brake van keeps an eye on the dog and owners can get down at major stations to tend to their petswhen taking dogs along inside the compartments owners are solely responsible for their needs and they have to ensure that the coupe floor is not soiled owners also have to be careful that their pets do not sneak out of the coupe and disturb other passengersit is still alright to put pets inside dogboxes for short journeys however during longdistances the dogs have to put up with a lot of neglect they cannot move about freely and have to relieve themselves in the cage this may leave them traumatised animals are sensitive to changes in air pressure and dogs are not very comfortable in the cargo holds of planes the only remaining option is to take them along even if it involves an additional expenditure of rs 4000 for a journey to delhi a dog owner said