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Pet relief areas at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) — Terminal D

When I had a layover in Dallas last week, I dashed out to look for pet relief areas. According to the DFW website, there are pet relief areas at all five terminals (A through E). I arrived at Terminal D, and had just enough time to locate one of the two Terminal D pet relief areas. [I’m returning to this post in July 2014 to report that Dallas now also has a pet relief area in Terminal D on the air side of security — that is, you don’t have to exit the building and return through security to give your dog a bathroom break. The new(ish) airside pet relief area, according to DFW’s website, is “located inside security at gate D18.” If any of you visit it, please let me know what you think of it (and for bonus points, send a picture!).]

Here’s what you do. Get down to the baggage claim area and locate Baggage Carousel D-15. Exit the terminal through the nearest door, labelled LL-D15. Here’s what it looks like:

Straight ahead of you, in the middle of the roadway, you’ll see this HUGE sign urging you onwards:

It’s blurry, but I risked my life taking this picture.

You’ll find yourself in the parking garage, and you’ll see another sign just inside, telling you to turn right. So you do, and after all that, what you find is this:

I stood there in disbelief for about a minute. I have never seen a more ridiculous airport pet relief area, and I’ve seen a lot of them by now.

It’s tiny. I swear it’s smaller than a Smart Car. Be sure to bring your own poop bags, since I didn’t see any, and I join you in hoping that your dog thinks well of large, chunky wood chips.

When I spoke to the man at the information desk inside, he told me that the pet relief area at the other end of Terminal D (look for the exit door near Baggage Carousel 29 or 30) is just the same. I looked for alternatives, of course, but even the hotel in Terminal D (the Grand Hyatt) is surrounded by concrete. The airport website states that the pet relief areas for the other terminals are “grassy areas,” but I didn’t have the time to take the Skylink train to another terminal (I would likely have chosen Terminal B). When I do get to see the other DFW pet relief areas, I’ll update this post — if you find yourself in Terminals A, B, C or E and get out to the pet relief areas, please send me an e-mail and let me know what they’re like!

This post is part of an ongoing series of reviews of airport pet relief areas we’ve visited. To see others, visit Dog Jaunt’s handy guide to airport pet relief areas.

21 comments

  • Amy@GoPetFriendly

    That’s ridiculous! It looks like a lab or GSD service dog wouldn’t even be able to turn around in there. And, it’s not like you get to choose which terminal you come into. Seriously Dallas, this is a #pottyareafail

  • Angie C

    Wow!! Gotta laugh but how stupid is that! After seeing this and reading of the hassles of finding somewhere for our little guys to ‘go’, I am very relieved Francie is trained to pee pads in case of an emergency! 🙂

  • Ashley

    So I am thinking about traveling with my 2 yorkies for the first time next weekend and will have a lay over here. When you take your pet to the “relief” area, do you have to go back through security again if you have a connecting flight? If so, how long does that whole process take at dallas fort worth?

  • Hi, Ashley! You do, indeed — some airports have pet relief areas on the air side of security, but most are still like Dallas, with the pet relief areas on the land side of security. When I was there, the airport was very quiet, and it only took about 10 minutes to exit and find the pet relief area, and then about 15 minutes to come back through security. I usually set aside an hour for the whole process, though.

  • Nel

    Pet area by E38 is a bit more pet friendly. Just take the skyline, made the mistake of walking from E11 to E38.

  • stephanie arruda

    Omg…we fly in March 2014. Please tell me. Have they updated them. I saw pictures of it being in doors.

  • Hi, Stephanie! Things do change, so maybe it’ll be different in March (and maybe you won’t fly into D terminal — one commenter said that the E pet relief area was better….). Please let us know! (Dallas is not one of the ones with an indoor pet relief area, yet, as far as I know — Dulles, yes, but not Dallas. But heck, maybe that’ll change too.)

  • That’s interesting news, Kona — thank you for the heads-up! I suspect it’s like the other ones I’ve seen (except the impressive one at Dulles) — a small room with a bit of faux-turf on the ground, or just pee-pads. But still — better than heading all the way out and then back in through security. Please let us know what you find there, and send a picture if you can! [email protected]

  • Kona

    I was able to go to the indoor pet relief area in DFW. It is next to gate D-18. It is a fairly large room with a fake turf box and a “waterfall” water bowl. My little sheltie enjoyed being able to walk around, albeit, it did take a lot of coaxing for her to relieve herself indoors on the faux grass. Overall, I had a great experience flying with her (flew American). Was a little nervous since it was her first time but she did amazing. Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Cheryl Hansen

    Help how do I train my rescue terrier to use artificial turf?? Seems like most pet relief areas are concrete or
    turf .Where’s the grass!
    Thanks

  • I have no suggestions, Cheryl — Chloe will pee on anything, thank goodness. Perhaps desperation, and the smell of previous visitors will help your pup? I try to identify the nearest patch of grass when I describe a pet relief area that’s all-bark or all-turf, but some of them — like this one — don’t have nearby alternatives.

  • Monica

    The area in D-18 was great for Sammy, he was hesitant to use the box . but after a while he used a corner and I had to clean it , but no problem since they provide with a lot of towels and disinfectant spray .
    The water fountain was a little uncomfortable but lucky for Sammy I always carry a cup for his water and he could drink with out getting his face all wet.

  • Dee

    Just visited the D18 relief room and can affirm that it’s still there, still clean but the waterfall bowl isn’t working . My dog wouldn’t have used it anyway and I was happy they still had a clean sink and faucet for that purpose. Also, my dog was very interested in smelling the two very clean litter boxes. So cat owners should be happy here too, although I can’t imagine any cat “going” if a dog were present!☺️

  • Mary Jane Munson

    There is indeed an indoor pet relief area next to the gateway for D-18. It is actually nice and has room for several dogs to use the astro turf. they leave a large water bowl on the floor and there is a sink right there for you to wash and fill a dog his water. I visited on 7/8/16.

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