It’s been a long time since I’ve transited through Chicago’s O’Hare airport, so I was very glad to hear from reader Rebecca that things are different now. Let’s start with the Photo Friday part of this post, because Keeney, Rebecca’s Cavapoo, will make you smile:

Rebecca and Keeney had a layover in ORD recently, and Rebecca tells me travelers with pets no longer have to make do with the (very lovely) lawn of the airport Hilton. Now there are two official pet relief areas, one outside Terminal 1 and the other outside Terminal 5. They are both on the lower, baggage claim level. You can see the icon for the Terminal 1 pet relief area in this map [PDF] just below the bottom corner of the blue rectangle representing the baggage claim level; in this map of Terminal 5 [PDF], the icon for the pet relief area is just above the line of eight yellow squares representing the taxi waiting area.

I believe that Rebecca and Keeney went to the Terminal 1 pet relief area. They kindly sent a picture, and as you’ll see, the ORD pet relief areas are fully fenced, and equipped with a poop bag dispenser, trash can and bench — and there’s blessed, blessed shade.

ORD pet relief area (Terminal 1)

This is all good news, but keep the Hilton’s lawn in mind if you’re arriving at Terminals 2 or 3 and don’t have the time it takes to walk to the official pet relief area at Terminal 1 (Terminal 5 is far enough away that you wouldn’t walk to it from the other three terminals). As you can see in this Google Maps view, it’s centrally located, and it offers your pup grass, which the official pet relief areas don’t (be sure, of course, to bring a poop bag):

Yep, that whole big curved building is the Hilton.

Thanks so much, Rebecca and Keeney, for the report and the pictures! Dog Jaunters’ effort and input make this blog useful, and I really appreciate it. I have added this update to Dog Jaunt’s handy guide to airport pet relief areas.