Air Travel and the Emotional Support Animal Craze

Greetings,

Reference is made to this this 2015 message thread.

Unless you, the scholars of ATS, know of an applicable US law, it appears that the basis that forces the airline industry to accept "Emotional Support" animals is that,

Those who cannot cope with a plane ride without their pets may sue the airline.

and, this quote, from the same link above, defines the difference between valid service dogs (seeing eye dogs, for example) and "emotional support" animals:

[quote="DM"]

The ADA (Americans Disability Act) does not include Emotional Support Animals. There is no legal standing as far as I know for these animals. In 2011 the ADA act was changed to only allow dogs and miniature horse (to help with mobility issues). Service dogs are for physical reasons (alert, guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility).. From the AD site: A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability."

And so, this "fear of lawsuits" that forces the airline industry to transport all sorts of pets in the cabin appears to be getting more insane.

Recent headlines, Emotional support animal’ mauls 5-year-old at Portland Airport...

...Gabriella, then aged 5, was waiting at the gate when Brannan entered the area with her pit bull, which was not kept in a crate, kennel or other secure container, the lawsuit claims. The child allegedly gained permission from Brannan to pet the dog. While she was petting the animal, it bit her, causing serious injuries....As a result of the incident, Gabriella Gonzalez suffered injury to the muscles, tendons, bones, nerves and soft tissue of her face, eye, eyelid, tear duct and lip, as well as emotional trauma,” the lawsuit reads, noting that Gabriella was left with permanent scarring and “required surgery to repair complex facial lacerations and a damaged tear duct, and has incurred medical expenses and will incur future medical expenses....

Then there is this avoidable incident, [emotional support] dog feces involving a Delta Airlines flight.

A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight claimed he stepped in dog feces that had been left on the plane and the airline did not assist in helping him clean up the mess, several reports said....It was feces, and it was everywhere," Meehan said. "It was on my seat. It was on the floor. My feet were in it."...

And so, the question becomes, "If or when, will the airline industry or the traveling public put a stop to this 'emotional support pet' nonsense?"

a reply to: Adonsa
Perhaps when the passengers mauled by these animals sue the airlines and also the passsengers responsible for bringing the animals onto the scene.
If the supported passengers had to pay an extra "indemnity" fee to cover the airlines from this risk of being sued, then they might not bother.

originally posted by: Adonsa
Greetings,

Reference is made to this this 2015 message thread.

Unless you, the scholars of ATS, know of an applicable US law, it appears that the basis that forces the airline industry to accept "Emotional Support" animals is that,

Those who cannot cope with a plane ride without their pets may sue the airline.

and, this quote, from the same link above, defines the difference between valid service dogs (seeing eye dogs, for example) and "emotional support" animals:

[quote="DM"]

The ADA (Americans Disability Act) does not include Emotional Support Animals. There is no legal standing as far as I know for these animals. In 2011 the ADA act was changed to only allow dogs and miniature horse (to help with mobility issues). Service dogs are for physical reasons (alert, guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility).. From the AD site: A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability."

And so, this "fear of lawsuits" that forces the airline industry to transport all sorts of pets in the cabin appears to be getting more insane.

Recent headlines, Emotional support animal’ mauls 5-year-old at Portland Airport...

...Gabriella, then aged 5, was waiting at the gate when Brannan entered the area with her pit bull, which was not kept in a crate, kennel or other secure container, the lawsuit claims. The child allegedly gained permission from Brannan to pet the dog. While she was petting the animal, it bit her, causing serious injuries....As a result of the incident, Gabriella Gonzalez suffered injury to the muscles, tendons, bones, nerves and soft tissue of her face, eye, eyelid, tear duct and lip, as well as emotional trauma,” the lawsuit reads, noting that Gabriella was left with permanent scarring and “required surgery to repair complex facial lacerations and a damaged tear duct, and has incurred medical expenses and will incur future medical expenses....

Then there is this avoidable incident, [emotional support] dog feces involving a Delta Airlines flight.

A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight claimed he stepped in dog feces that had been left on the plane and the airline did not assist in helping him clean up the mess, several reports said....It was feces, and it was everywhere," Meehan said. "It was on my seat. It was on the floor. My feet were in it."...

And so, the question becomes, "If or when, will the airline industry or the traveling public put a stop to this 'emotional support pet' nonsense?"

Dearborn Mi...riding the local buses with her service miniature horse...since 2009

If you need an animal to fly then dont fly.
My wife is highly allergic to furry animals and forcing her to sit next to a cat for three hours is bull#...

a reply to: Bluntone22

I don't like to fly but if it came to petting my dog or just have a couple shots of tequila before I get on the plane....and maybe a couple more on the way.....

Yeah, I'm going with tequila.

Or....maybe they're just being smart business people and trying to bring in customers who otherwise might not do business with them.

Frankly, the whole idea that anyone really needs to fly to travel is a bit bizarre to me. "Well ya know Martha. I'd like to go see the family but an 8 hour drive is just too much. I know! I'll strap myself inside a hollow tube and get launched up into the sky and make a controlled crash when I get there! That's kinda scary when you say it that way but I'm sure everything will be fine."

originally posted by: Bluntone22
If you need an animal to fly then dont fly.

' Precisely and why does one persons needs surpass the needs of

so many other passengers?

My wife is highly allergic to furry animals and forcing her to sit next to a cat for three hours is bull#...

Hmmn and how many seats will that animal in the post above yours

occupy? Hope she's paying for ALL the space being occupied.

a reply to: Adonsa

Emotional support animal makes me think of my first wife.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Adonsa

Emotional support animal makes me think of my first wife.

WHY

Because...........she was yours? OR were you hers?

This is a short lived trend. It won't be long before the airlines, much like many other places now, place prohibitions on emotional support animals on their aircraft.

I am seeing signs go up all over the place these days which say basically...

"If you have a registered Service Animal, your Service Animal is welcome in our establishment. However, please be advised that 'Emotional Support" animals are NOT considered registered "Service Animals" and are therefore prohibited."

You can thank all those progressive nut jobs who are just bent on pushing every boundary to extremes (and beyond).

ETA - AND, my money is on this being the final straw....when someone dies or a flight has to be diverted due to a severe allergic reaction of a passenger to someone else's "emotional support animal". Just wait till the ambulance chasers get a hold of one of these suits and sue an airline for $200m. It's only a matter of time. Then guess what happens??? All animals are prohibited from the cabins of aircraft, even true Service Animals!

Thanks, you liberal jackasses!

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Adonsa

Emotional support animal makes me think of my first wife.

Hell..I needed emotional support dealing w my ex's.

The tequila suggestion was a good one...but I don't do well with it!

originally posted by: Bluntone22
If you need an animal to fly then dont fly.
My wife is highly allergic to furry animals and forcing her to sit next to a cat for three hours is bull#...

Right?

Grow the hell up and fly with emotional support bourbon like the rest of us adults.


Edit: Damnit DAVID64, you beat me to it.

a reply to: DAVID64

Life pro tip.

You can fly with as many 50ml liquor bottles that will fit into a quart sized ziplock bag.

My record is 13, and I drank them...

Madre was not thrilled when I landed.

i dont get how this has gone on for so long. 99% of the time u know the person is just making up their "special" needs. ive also found it interesting how most people who claim an emotional support animal also rivals the backwardness of the people of walmart. i mean srsly, these people look inbred most the time.

a reply to: Adonsa
I'm a really nervous flyer, so I avoid it if I can. But I could see having my dog with me making me feel more relaxed. I would need to take care of him and not focus so much on the flight itself.

When I was flying frequently, every couple of weeks, a support animal would have been nice. It would have been impractical, though, since those were for business trips. I don't know what I would do with my dog through the business day.

I see nothing wrong with this. There are going to be the occasional issues, however. As someone who deals with anxiety, I support those things that help people feel more at ease -- within reason, of course. And a dog or cat riding quietly with its owner on a plane is definitely within reason.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

Well, that's not entirely accurate.

It is true the TSA won't stop you at passenger screening. However, it is a federal offense to consume alcohol onboard a commercial aircraft unless said alcohol was served to you by the airline operator's "certificate holder" (i.e. the airline).

a reply to: icanteven

what about someone who has a deathly fear of dogs, cats, eagles, goats, sheep, rats, etc and then they themselves are stuck sitting next to someone with their pet and are now put in fear? imo these sorts of things are the responsibility of the afflicted. if they cant fly or go out without their pet then they need to find a way to take care of the problem without imposing their affliction on others around them. so buy a private plane ticket, take a car ride, etc. if u have to have your animal with you. personally i feel we should atleast require an official medical diagnosis by a psychiatrist with the appropriate paperwork to even be eligible, and then their should be a fee associated with it aswell.

I was traveling two weeks ago on a Delta flight , I put my Halbert One brief case under the seat for takeoff. When I retrieve it, it had Dog crap smeared on the bottom. The flight crew thought I was unkind in my comments.
I don’t mind people traveling with there damn dogs, but that’s just nasty.

originally posted by: TheScale
a reply to: icanteven

what about someone who has a deathly fear of dogs, cats, eagles, goats, sheep, rats, etc and then they themselves are stuck sitting next to someone with their pet and are now put in fear? imo these sorts of things are the responsibility of the afflicted. if they cant fly or go out without their pet then they need to find a way to take care of the problem without imposing their affliction on others around them. so buy a private plane ticket, take a car ride, etc. if u have to have your animal with you. personally i feel we should atleast require an official medical diagnosis by a psychiatrist with the appropriate paperwork to even be eligible, and then their should be a fee associated with it aswell.

The people who are afraid of animals and the people with emotional support animals would cancel each other out. So I would allow both.

originally posted by: icanteven

I see nothing wrong with this. There are going to be the occasional issues, however. As someone who deals with anxiety, I support those things that help people feel more at ease -- within reason, of course. And a dog or cat riding quietly with its owner on a plane is definitely within reason.

I have an autistic grandson who is unable to rationalise his anxiety issues

who is terrified of dogs. So why should you who can rationalise your anxiety

be humoured at the expense of him?

And as for myself anyone who brought on a snake would see me dive through

the nearest window.