Women spends $1700 to take her dog on a 1-month trip around Italy

The Scottish woman made headlines after dropping more than $1700 to take her Maltese dog on holiday to Italy for a month. Photo / Flickr

While travellers around the world bemoan the cost of international flights, a 23-year-old has made headlines for spending $1743 to take her dog on a month-long vacation in Italy.

Like many young people, Catherine Sophie recently spent a month in Italy, enjoying the warmer weather. Unlike many young people, the actress from Glasgow shelled out more than $1700 to ensure her 3-year-old Maltese could join her, reported South West News Service.

As an actress, Sophie regularly travels between Glasgow and London and takes Teddy with her, so she knew her best friend would handle the flight well.

“I travel a lot for work and Teddy is a great companion,” she told SWNS, adding that she felt lucky at how well-behaved he was.

So, when Sophie booked a flight from Edinburgh to Rome on April 2, she decided to book a spot for Teddy, who got to spend the flight under her seat.

Maltese dogs tend to weigh 3 to 4kg when fully grown, making them an easy breed to take on planes. Photo / Ron Clausen

After landing in Rome and visiting popular attractions such as the Vatican and the Colosseum, the pair travelled on to Bari and Civitavecchia and Sophie used the trip to practice her Italian and visit her great-grandfather’s grave.

Travelling with Teddy meant Sophie had great company every day and ensured she got out and explored every day.

To ensure Teddy wasn’t turned away from any hotels or motels, Sophie booked pet-friendly Airbnbs during the trip. However, this wasn’t what resulted in a large bill for such a small pup.

Sophie told SWNS it was the trip home that racked up the bill, as she could not find a direct flight home that would allow her to take Teddy in the cabin.

Instead, she had to take two planes, a bus, a boat and a car to get home.

First, the pair flew from Rome to Amsterdam then took a second flight to Dublin, Ireland. They then booked a bus to Belfast, where they boarded a ferry to Scotland, where Sophie’s mother collected them from the dock and drove them home.

Teddy’s travel fees, pet passport and rabies shot cost $1743 but Sophie maintained it was “worth it” to have her dog travel with her.

She isn’t the first traveller to gain attention (and criticism) for including her pet in travel plans.

In 2023, a woman defended her decision to buy her miniature dachshund Fifi a business-class seat for a flight by saying the dog is not just a dog but her daughter.

The dog and her owner, Helen, flew business class with Turkish Airlines for an 11-hour flight from Hong Kong to Istanbul. From there, they continued to Paris.