Honey, I'm home!

So we're now safely at home in Waterloo (where my fiance lives), and I'll be heading back to Ottawa (where I go to school) in about a week. This has got to be confusing for poor Arden, but I'm sure he'll be just fine.
So I have good news and bad news. Let's start with the good. Arden was an absolute superstar all day on both flights, and then the hour-long ride back to my fiance's place. It was his first time flying, and I worried about potential anxieties on the plane, or an upset tummy, or even just his ears popping. I made sure to feed him ice as the planes took off and landed, and am hoping that that was at least useful. At the very least, he wasn't too thirsty. we made sure not to feed or water them too much before leaving, so as not to deal with "the urge" all day. He only sat up a bit during landing and take-off, but rested really comfortably for the duration of the flight.
The bad news is that I'm not really sure what's going on with these airlines, especially with respect to their policy on accommodating guide dogs. I flew both flights with Air Canada, and when I got to the check-in counter in sanfrancisco, was told that he and I would only have one seat. I asked not to sit next to anyone, and because the plane wasn't full, they accommodated that "request", but had the plane been full, it would have been me, Arden, plus some random (and justifiably disgruntled) stranger next to us in a two-seater. They told me that if we needed an extra seat, we'd have to buy it. Well, as I said, the first portion of the journey was ok, because the flight indeed hadn't been full, so we were able to get a two-seater to ourselves.
When I transfered in Vancouver, it was quite another story. First, let me say that it seems to be a chronic problem that airports are understaffed. every time I've flown anywhere, I'm always greeted by a panting, exhausted agent who's taken over for so-and-so because that person had too many people, or they ran out of wheelchairs, or they're pissed off about something or other. As if that wasn't bad enough, arden and I got dragged onto the moving escalator without being told that we were even approaching one. I couldn't even hear it move so as to stop myself, and as soon as we lurched onto it, my heart caught in my throat, because Arden didn't have his back boots on! The agent was very upset with herself, and apologized profusely, but that did very little to console me. As we all know, the escalator is a one-way ride--it's not like we were really able to just back ourselves off of it. I managed to reign in my panic for Arden's sake, and talked to him really animatedly as we approached the end. He jumped off with all four feet, giving himself like three feet of air. Thank god...but my worries were not yet over.
we arrived at the boarding gate, and were quickly informed that the flight was full, and that Arden and I would be sharing a two-seater with someone else. I was really kind of shocked, because I knew that GDB had indicated to the airline that I was travelling with a guide dog. And I don't really understand what the point is of telling the airline that you have a service dog if that doesn't change anything at all about your seating arrangements-we're legally not under any obligation to inform people of our dogs, and often do so just so they can plan to have us take up the required space. well, I kicked up quite a fuss at the counter about it--I managed to remain polite and professional, but made my worries clear. Arden is a few pounds hsort of being 80 lbs, and is about 26 inches tall. And he's also a very, very long dog. I kept reminding the people at the counter that the person next to me would not have any place to put their feet at all. So then they were like "ok, we've moved you to 5D, there's more space there." So, boarding pass in hand, I got on the plane.
"hello, Ms. Linch!" they greeted me cheerfully. except that my last name is not Linch. So then there was this whole big kafuffel because I had Ms. Linch's boarding pass, and where was she anyway, and who had my boarding pass? so then they placed me in the airplane's little kitchedn area while the rest of the passengers got on. So muchf or pre-boarding to avoid this crowd, but what're you going to do, right? As I stood there hearing people get on, I heard someone approach the flight attendant and say "I asked for a seat that was perfect! and I didn't get one!"
"I'm sorry?" she replied.
"I mean, I need to sit next to the emergency exit! and my TV isn't even working!"
And it really occured to me, for perhaps the millionth time, that what you complain about in life is so, so relative, and so dependent on what you're used to, what you've been trained to expect, etc.
Finally, they sorted themselves out, and someone came up to me, apologized profusely, and told me that they'd put me in first class because there happened to be an extra seat there. I still ended up sitting next to someone--a very kind, elderly gentelman who had also been upgraded for some reason or other, and managed to finish like, a bottle of wine each to comfort ourselves. So, I was really pleased with the flight attendants, who did everything they could to make Arden and I as comfortable as possible. But I'm really confused about the airline's policy about service animals. When I travel on the greynound, or with Via-rail, the seat next to us is always reserved as well, in order to accomodate the dog on the floor. I can't have been the first person to encounter this problem,and am surprised that it hasn't been addressed from a policy perspective. Either that, or the policy has been mis-applied. Granted, I slept for a million hours last night and am still in my PJs, so I haven't actually called anyone or looked anything up, but I fully intend on seeing this one through. Can you please comment on your experiences or understanding of existing policies? Is this just an Air Canada thing?
I will update later on how Arde and I are doing. So far, he's really enjoying being at my fiance's place, and I keep him close to me at all times. I don't think I'll be doing any harness work with him until a bit later this week though (thank you, construction!), and hopefully that'll be just fine as well.
Thanks again for reading, and i'll likely keep updating since that's what I tend to do.