Am I over the top? I'm thinking that airline people might treat the pup a little better if they know that they're being shipped as "baggage" which means that the owner is on the plane. It might be less traumatic for the pup to have a 4.5 hour straight through flight (think: dark room, humming engines = sleep) rather than a 8-9 hour flight, with a layover.
You are NOT over the top!

There are too many stories of dogs dying due to being shipped from one state to another as cargo in planes.

Go get your baby and ensure that your doggie is taken care of. Also, pick the shortest flight you can... so there is less trama to the dog.

Congratulations!