Obese dog flies first class in his own bed

A passenger was left rather bemused when she spotted an enormous dog boarding an American Airlines plane - with his own first class seat.

Twitter user @madeleinedoux took a photograph of the dog at LAX and shared it online.

According to Mashable, the dog's name is Hank and he belongs to Kari Whitman, an interior designer to stars like Jessica Alba, who also founded Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue in Beverly Hills, California.

See also: British pilot died in plane crash caused by escaped crocodile

See also: Cute kitten survives 300-mile flight from Egypt to UK

The site says that Hank is Whitman's support animal and, due to an illness, can only move with the aid of a cart, which is the reason for his heavy weight (approximately 165lbs).

Whitman has a company called Greener Pup, creating custom-made dog beds, which she sells to fund her dog rescue charity.

Madeleine also took to Twitter to gush over Hank and Wihtman, and shared a link to learn more about Greener Pup:

Whitman told NBC Los Angeles that Hank detects her seizures, and always travels first class with her.

He looks like a pampered pooch - and we love it.