Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Attendant Current
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Other / Unknown; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct
Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
During boarding; I was standing in an exit row scanning passengers for meeting the selection criteria to sit there. There was a lot going on in the exit row and I was preoccupied with confirming that two younger passengers met the age requirement and whether another passenger was willing to assist. One of the last passengers to board was holding a really small dog in front of her face and I was concerned with whether or not she was wearing a mask with a valve on it. After she sat in the exit row and I determined she had a mask with a valve and needed to get her a disposable mask; I failed to realize that her dog disqualified her from sitting there because I was distracted by her mask and addressing the other passengers' needs to meet exit seat criteria. I did confirm the other passengers' eligibility and briefed the exit row passengers; but during cruise; the B Flight Attendant notified me there was a passenger with a dog in the exit row. I was shocked to realize my mistake and immediately moved the passenger to an empty seat behind the exit row; so the passengers met the exit seat criteria for final descent.Focus my attention on scanning each passenger again for selection criteria prior to briefing and really check on their laps and under their seats for pets. Have the B or D Flight Attendant cross check exit row passenger selection criteria after boarding is complete. Ensure the operations agent gives out disposable masks to passengers with valves prior to boarding; so flight attendants can focus more on other safety precautions. Have operations agent notify any passengers with pets that they cannot occupy an exit seat as they scan their boarding pass.
Flight Attendant reported a passenger with a dog was seated in the exit row; however; the flight attendant did not recognize this due to being distracted with the passenger's face mask non-compliance.