Chloe’s messenger bag, the PetEgo Contour Messenger Black Label Bag, is my secret weapon. Without it, I could not sneak her into a fraction of the places she goes. It comes in two sizes, and she fits in the larger one (13Hx20Lx10W). That’s the one illustrated on PetEgo’s page for the product; please note that their human model is petite, and the bag is less imposing in real life. It also comes in a sporty orange-and-grey color combination, but I think the all-black option looks more like an computer bag and doesn’t highlight the mesh ventilation panels.

It has many good features, but the ones I care most about are the mesh “tower” and a small, zipped hatch in the top panel. The tower can be raised solidly into place with a couple of interior struts. However, I choose not to use them, but to leave the tower zipper open so that Chloe can push the top panel up with her head and look out through the mesh if she wants to. When she’s done gazing and lies down, the top lowers again, returning the bag to its normal shape.

The hatch in the top panel could allow her to stick just her head out of the bag (though right now she’s small enough that her shoulders soon follow). I use it instead to poke treats into her bag from time to time. We like her to feel that when she’s in the messenger bag, goodies fall from the sky.

Other nice features are the removable pad that lines the bottom of the bag (it tends to get scuffed up while she’s in the bag, but at least once it’s served as a mat for her to lie on at a restaurant’s outdoor seating area) and the poop bag dispenser built into the tiny pocket on the front of the bag. An overarching nice feature is that the bag is very well made (which it should be, at that price).

The fact is, owners of really small dogs have it easy. There are lots of stealth bags out there for dogs under 10 lbs., and many of them are very discreet indeed. Look, for example, at the Mia Dog Carrier [no longer available, as of 6/11], Trixie & Peanut’s Tailways Pet Tote, or the unaffordable Charles Nantucket Carrier — who would ever know there was a dog inside? Larger small dogs don’t have as many choices. Maybe I’ll buy a second black messenger bag and save it for when Chloe’s current bag wears out. What if it were discontinued??

Amazon link:
Petego EGR Contour Messenger Black Label Bag. Size-Large 20