Remember that reader Julia reported that the original airside pet relief area at SEA had closed, and there was a new one in the C gates area? Today’s update is brought to you by reader Ashlee, who just visited the new location and told me that “the dog relief area is directly across from gate C2. This is right at the beginning of the C gates (not far from the Life is Good store) so it’s still in (or very close to) the center terminal. The same patch of green turf is there, complete with red fire hydrant. The room is smaller though.” [7/14 Please note that SEA’s indoor pet relief area has moved back to its original location — here’s a post about its current whereabouts and appearance.]

I’ll leave the italicized paragraph and accompanying photo you’ll see below, since it talks about the Astroturf strip Ashlee mentions, and since Ashlee wasn’t able to take a picture during her visit, but I’m going to delete the bulk of the original post, since it’s no longer relevant.

For those of you new to SEA and its pet relief areas, here’s where this all started, back in June 2009: “We returned to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) late last night and on our way to baggage claim I noticed a sign for a pet relief area inside the terminal. Not too long ago, I completely panned SEA’s outdoor pet relief area, and now I have to change my tune. SEA has had the brilliant idea of setting aside a room in the terminal for pets to relieve themselves on wee-wee pads, and it’s beyond security, so you don’t have to exit the secured area and then reenter with your relieved dog.” I was thrilled at the time, but now that I’ve experienced the excellence of Dulles’ air-side pet relief area, this pet relief area seems pretty lame.

I’m updating this post (first published on 6/8/09), following a couple of recent visits. A June 2011 update, at the bottom of the post below, mentioned litter boxes and open doors. I made a note to tell you about a visit in July 2012 (litter boxes gone, but now no pee pads or poop bags). It’s just as well that I failed to follow up, because yesterday we stopped in and the whole thing has changed. Now there’s a long strip of Astroturf on the ground (with a toy fire hydrant in the middle, to encourage the males), and a poop bag dispenser on the wall. The doors are still propped open, which I still find less than ideal, and there is still a whiffiness to the place that you’ll notice. However, it’s still on the air side of security, and the airport does seem to be trying to make the room work for travelers. Here’s a current picture:

My head is obscuring the poop bag dispenser. Chloe was a bit reluctant to walk on this particular Astroturf, but she eventually stepped on and attended to business.

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.