I’m sure many of you saw the headlines that American Airlines would no longer allow emotional support animals on flights. I was surprised how many people were in favor of this news, because I thought it meant no more support animals of any kind on flights, which also sounds like it went against several laws. But then I read the actual decision and now I’m on the side of those who think this is a good thing. AA is complying with a U.S. Department of Transportation ruling on traveling by air with service animals and ensuring a safer, more comfortable flight for the all passengers and flight attendants. In short, the new restrictions require the animals on board to be registered or documented service animals and to be contained in a way that doesn’t interfere with the other people on the flight.
American Airlines is changing its rules when it comes to emotional service animals (ESAs).
The airline announced Tuesday that it will no longer allow animals that do not meet the Department of Transportation’s definition of a service animal, including ESAs. Instead, they will be able to travel as carry-on pets or cargo pets.
“Our team is motivated by a purpose to care for people on life’s journey, and we believe these policy changes will improve our ability to do just that,” Jessica Tyler, American Airlines’ president of cargo and vice president of airport excellence, said in a statement.
“We’re confident this approach will enable us to better serve our customers, particularly those with disabilities who travel with service animals, and better protect our team members at the airport and on the aircraft,” Tyler added.
You can read the USDOT’s final ruling here. AA will honor current ESA bookings through the end of January. This clears up a lot of my misconceptions. A trained service animal is never a problem on a flight but many of us have heard horror stories about people with untrained service animals or worse, bringing an animal and lying about it being an ESA just to keep it on their lap. Flying is traumatic on animals and sometimes being in a carrier under the seat is the most humane thing you can do for them in that situation. A freaked-out dog at 30,000 ft going after a flight attendant is a horror movie waiting to be written. Plus, bringing back proper documentation and certification, and requiring those forms be submitted 48 hours prior to flights, will allow those with service pets to check-in online once again. Until this decision, they had to check-in in person so the pet could be cleared by the airline. Honestly, I think this is better for everyone on board.
However, I know it’s traumatic to travel with your pets in cargo and it’s expensive to buy them a seat on the flight. In addition, there are people who don’t have certified ESAs but find air travel less fraught with a therapy animal. I wish there could be something like a therapy dog flight, where dogs get to travel the globe on flights and just be available to folks flying, like they have in hospitals. Or you could have Dog Friendly Flights, along with Cat Friendly flights and Kid Friendly flights so you don’t have to feel bad if you baby is teething and crying throughout. Obviously, we’d need an annual Snake Friendly flight hosted by Samuel L. Jackson, but I’m getting ahead of myself. I know there has to be a better way to travel for animals but for now, I think streamlining the ESA procedure will, in the long run, be less stressful for all involved.
Photo credit: Instagram
Fair. As a sufferer, there are more ways than 1 to deal with anxiety.
Super fair. I have severe flight anxiety that I have to treat with pills. I have no issues with properly trained SERVICE DOGS. It’s the ESA that tick me off. Nothing makes things worse than an untrained ESA on a flight. Plus also am deeply allergic to cats so I’m thrilled they will no longer be allowed on.
Sorry regular pet owners. Emotional support pit bulls (oh my god that was a scary trip) who are allowed to do whatever they want because their owners did not have them properly trained have no business being on planes.
About damn time!!!
Agreed. As an aside, a couple years ago, my husband was stranded at EWR in the wake of a blizzard because a service dog cut its paw boarding the plane and bled everywhere. The crew was trying to get everyone on quickly so they could take off because the storm was coming in. Everyone had to get off the plane, and cleaning it all up took so long that the incoming snow prevented the flight from taking off when the cleanup was finished.
Finally!!! I will never forget the Altasian sized dog who tried to jump into my Mothers lap in a restaurant and the owner wasn’t able to call it back. It was only allowed inside as a ESA.
My mother was always afraid of dogs ans at that time already in a weelchair which made it worse.
Trained service animals are fine. They do not bother other people.
ESAs are not covered by the ADA and can legally be barred from restaurants.
My niece requires the assistance of a trained service dog. Both the dog and she went through extensive training to ensure he can properly assist her and behave 100% of the time.
The people who train service dogs are amazing – and so are the dogs! It has to be frustrating to go through all that and watch people abuse the system with untrained animals.
Plane full of animals vs plane full of people. I’d rather fly with the animals. But sadly most planes are full of paying flyers. Where are people fitting their labradoodles, peacocks, pigs, and ponies if they aren’t buying an extra seat?
Exactly! There so many stories about other passangers being bitten, shat or peed on…so, no, you either pay for another seat of leave your pet at home.
You can’t just pay for another seat for your pet. Please look up pet travel guidelines for each airline. I’ve never heard of this. Otherwise, I would have done exactly this for my dog who is well-behaved, but not an ESA. As a puppy, he was able to fly twice internationally.
Now we have to jump through a lot of hoops and buying a seat isn’t one of them.
Pets under 10lbs in a soft-sided carrier are placed under the seat in front of you, and take the place of your carry-on. They are not allowed out on the flight. You pay $125-$175 each way, depending on the airline. They are also limited to three or four animals per flight. Bigger animals go in a crate in cargo. I don’t know how much it costs.
I have a cat I have traveled with at one point as an emotional support animal (I have a long history of depression and my mother had just had a stroke). I wasn’t allowed to bring her out during the flight; I just wasn’t charged that time. Since that time of particular need I let the designation lapse because I didn’t need her for emotional support anymore. I just pay to travel with her when the occasion requires, expensive though it is. I also always tell neighboring passengers I’m traveling with a cat in case of allergies, even though the cat never leaves the carrier.
I’m okay with the change–service animals are trained and by and large, emotional support animals are not, and the training is key to the aid they provide, and the ability to do it amongst people.
I volunteer as an usher at a world famous summer opera festival. Two summers ago a woman brought her “therapy” chihuahua to a performance which barked and yipped all through the opera. The house manager said there wasn’t anything we could do about it because of the ADA. Patrons were rightfully bitching at us all through intermission. It was a nightmare.
Just an FYI…a therapy animal is NOT protected by the ADA. Neither are emotional support animals. Only service animals are covered by the ADA. Your manager was well within the law to refuse to allow a therapy dog or ESA at the performance.
The problem is it doesn’t matter so much the law as the perception — Decorated War Hero booted from business XYZ because his PTSD dog etc makes a powerful headline….the byline that oh by the way, it isn’t protected by the ADA never makes the news.
It makes a small business vulnerable.
People were able to travel for years without emotional support animals. So they can adapt again or better yet stay home if you are that anxious. I have no problem with the service dogs who are very well trained. I think airlines don’t want to take the risk of being sued if some animals harms a person.
That’s a rather cruel thing to someone with a disability. Just stay home!?!?
Is anxiety a disability ?
@Nana, Indywom wasn’t saying that people with disabilities should just stay home. People with disabilities are still able to bring their trained service dogs with them when they fly.
If someone is not medically/legally disabled but has so much anxiety about flying that they *need* to bring their pet, then flying isn’t a great choice for them. Their pets were interfering with and in many documented instances attacking trained service animals.
So yes, those individuals who are too anxious to travel without their pet but do not meet the criteria of being disabled should either stay home or find alternate means of travel. There’s nothing cruel about that.
Ponytail; anxiety can definitely be a handicap. It can be terrifyingly paralyzing.
@Ponytail from a medical perspective? yeah it is. There are degrees but it can be incapacitating. source: psychiatrist and I have been diagnosed with this. I suggest Jenny Lawson’s Let’s pretend this never happened or Furiously Happy or her blog for insight to what anxiety disorders and depression can do to your quality of life.
@nana, to be fair, there is always medication. If you don’t want to treat your anxiety with medication, then drive. This is ridiculous. As someone that suffers from debilitating anxiety, in those most extreme cases, my doctor prescribed medication to get me through. Is it my go-to coping mechanism, absolutely not, but when it’s needed, it works.
As someone who for years was more terrified of flying than anything, and whenever she flew had worried staff constantly asking her why she looked so ill, couldn’t eat, couldn’t so much as read/watch movies/close eyes because of vertigo and could only look out the window to keep from getting nauseous throughout 8-hour flights, yeah. Keep your “I want my untrained therapy animal” entitlement and find a way to cope with crushing anxiety like the rest of us have in a way that doesn’t impact other people.*
*I personally would love to be seated next to a kitty or dog, but I get not everyone tolerates animals, and that not every animal is well behaved in that situation.
@nicole medication exists and it is effective I agree but it is not a magic fix and not everyone willing to take can or even then it might not work well. All I am saying is that ESA can work wonders and IF they really are properly trained should not be a problem. I get that there is a problem I just don’t think this is the best solution. Maybe setting standards for certification of ESA would work better and not leave marginalized people on the outside, again.
I rescued dogs on Guam. When I returned to the states I brought three and eventually a fourth back with me. (Guam had a large stray population. I’d never seen anything like it.)
Three were shipped as cargo to their new homes. For the last, it took two and a half days, and he arrived dehydrated. (I had the vet check him out because he had bloody diarrhea and they confirmed he was dehydrated.) He recovered fast in a loving home, but it was not a good experience. I had done everything I could think of to find him a safe home there and had failed.
The fourth (this was early 2019) I had classified as an ESA (I had to get my doctor to sign a statement certifying I had anxiety/depression WHICH I IN FACT DO and it’s not a game for me) and carried her back on my lap and at my feet. She is 18 pounds and was totally silent and perfect the whole way. I realize this is one example but it probably saved her life. I couldn’t find a home for her and she would have had to go to their only shelter which was perpetually overwhelmed and regularly euthanized dogs. She is a good dog.
So please don’t go extreme and paint everything with this brush of “dogs are horrific monsters and everyone is abusing the system.” Sometimes there is a genuine need.
I’m really sorry for those of you who experienced something awful but please bear in mind it’s irresponsible owners.
Oh also — ESAs traveled free and I’m sure the airlines never liked that. Cargo shipments were $700+ in 2019 (I worked with a service, not the airlines directly).
I know you mean well (and I am 1000% for trying to rescue in-danger animals), but this is actually an example of why the rules have been changed. You and your doctor lied in order to get an untrained non-ESA animal around the rules and on-board the plane in the cabin. It turned out that the dog was well-behaved on the flight, but you had no way of knowing that prior to doing this.
And this is exactly why the law had to be changed. You lied to get a certification you didn’t deserve. Wanting to rescue strays (admirable, BTW) from Guam is absolutely no excuse. You’re just lucky the dog was well behaved. What if, because it was not trained, it had attacked a passenger? You, by virtue of your actions, are actually one of those who was “abusing the system”.
It’s a great decision.If you have no medical condition, just pay up or shut up. For most people it was just the way to avoid the cost of another ticket.
This is only is in USA right? I have never seen any ESA on any other flights in my life. I also saw that some people take ‘unorthodox’ ESAs that really seems more like a cry for attention.
I think so, it’s the only country where I’m aware that it’s a thing and people claiming all sorts of animals as .emotional support’. Properly trained and registered support/service animals are a completely different thing and that’s how it should be, like guide dogs.
One woman genuinely tried to get a peacock on a flight as an ESA.
Link below (with photo of said peacock in airport.)
It was banned from the United flight. Can you imagine??
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42880690
Someone I know wanted to get their cat labeled a support animal so they could take the cat on vacation with them rather than finding a pet approved hotel. This person worked in the the therapy/counseling field too.
I must point out that there is NO federal registration or documentation required for an animal to be a service animal. There are NO mandatory trainings or tests in order for an animal to be called a service animal. Anyone can train an animal to perform tasks and call him/her a service animal. All this rule change will do is help the fake service animal “registries” sell stupid laminated ID cards and vests.
My prediction is people will bring their obviously untrained, fake service animals on board and continue to wreak havoc. I also suspect genuinely disabled people will be put through the third degree about their legitimately trained service animals. We need better legislation and regulations now.
I don’t know how many people with service animals do this but there is a certificate from the AKC called the Canine Good Citizen. My dogs after their obedience training passed the test for one. It evaluates how well the dog behaves in public around other dogs and people. There are other levels to the test which evaluate for therapy dog use and other attributes.
CGC is a great program! It now offers several different tests, including advanced and urban certifications.
Yep. I had a friend who was a puppy raiser for them. She would the train the puppy for a whole year then after that the dog would go to “big dog school” to get further training. This is why it would upset me when people think a emotional animal is the same as a certified trained service animal.
I work part time for a regional carrier — we are allowed to ask what activity of daily living the service dog provides and get a least some training on legit service animals. For instance the behavior of the dog — trained service dogs don’t seek attention from strangers, an owner will typically ask you to not pet or engage with the animal when it’s working etc.
It isn’t fool proof obviously and there are a lot of pit falls with people wanting to scam the system, but there are some pretty obvious tells on a truly trained animal.
American isn’t the only airline following suit.
@Hecate “I wish there could be something like a therapy dog flight, where dogs get to travel the globe on flights and just be available to folks flying, like they have in hospitals.”
Great idea! Love this!
I get that some people; mainly ex-military personnel suffering from PTSD, look to these animals for comfort. But it is so… heinously abused. Nothing but a shill for attention.
I use to abuse the “emotional support animal” privilege. I bought the “Support Animal” charm to hang on our dogs collar, and for $5, got a “Support Dog” tag made for him that even had his photo. We used it when we would travel across country – to get him into hotels. The ONLY benefit to doing that was that he was welcome into my Mother-in-laws nursing home – he looked somewhat official (he as a ham and played the part well). But it left me feeling… very uneasy. I was lying. The only thing the dog was emotionally attached to was food. After a few years, I stopped. Now I see it EVERYWHERE. I’ve seen people with PIT BULLS claiming “Emotional Support!” wandering through Home Depot. The dog wearing those choker collars with the inward spikes. My immediate thought was, if your dog is so trained to be a support animal, why do you need such violent restraints for it? Of course, there was someone else in the store with another dog, and sure as shit, the pit bull attacked the other dog. The store employees were powerless to stop it. I have seen people with snakes draped around there shoulders boasting “Emotional Support!” – not for those around you who don’t like snakes. Most recently, it was an post-adolescent girl parading her hedgehog in a shopping cart through the local Walmart. This was not “emotional support”; this was just plying for attention – “Look at me!”. And it also pisses me off to see people placing their animals in shopping carts at the supermarket. Carts that the rest of us are placing our food into.
It’s time for it to stop. I am all for, if you do NOT have a specifically trained service animal, you pay the animals way, and it is treated as any other animal.
And stop parading your creature around like some fashion accessory.
Yep. My husband and I once went out to dinner with his college friend who was visiting from a nearby city. When we got to the restaurant they saw his dog and said it wasn’t allowed inside and he showed some little card that said it was an emotional support animal. He told us it was some bs card he got – I forget how – just so he can take his dog with him everywhere. The hostess talked to the manager and they allowed it inside. I felt like SUCH an a$$hole walking in with this little dog. Just imagining people who might have allergies or might not want dog fur floating in the air around them while they eat or even people who love dogs but left their own at home because there are health and safety regulations on businesses that we as a society have up til recently agreed to respect.
I have severe allergies to dogs and cats. I don’t deny anyone’s need for a support animal, but I also don’t want to have a severe allergy attack on a flight. It would be a scary thing. I don’t have all of the answers, but designated flights for people with support animals may be part of an answer here.
Me too! I have to travel with Benadryl in case there are pets on the plane, and to make matters worse, Benadryl is a migraine trigger for me! I don’t think there is enough business for designated animal flights, but there would definitely be a market for pet-free flights. I’d pay extra for baby-free and people-who-won’t-keep-their-mask-on-free too!
It seems like people who suffer from severe allergies get lost in this discussion. Our attacks can be serious and even life-threatening. My kids are a bit older now, but I had to travel a fair bit with them when they were babies, so it is hard for me to support baby-free flights! Maybe family friendly flights would be a good alternative.
I once had a fellow passenger a few rows up from me spray perfume on herself. In the cabin. Mid flight. I’m very allergic to most perfumes and anything with “fragrance”. That was fun.
I’m allergic to dogs and cats too, but it’s mild (I have cats) but I’ve often wondered what people do if they are severely allergic and there’s an animal on their flight.
Who remembers the woman that couldn’t bring her “emotional support hamster” on a flight, so she flushed it down the toilet? This system has been abused for a long time to avoid paying cargo charges, while it’s a shame for the few that might have actually used it responsibly, they need to look after their passengers at large.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/09/woman-says-flushed-emotional-support-hamster-toilet-airline/
This is fine? A trained service animal can still accompany someone but really, people were bringing ponies and sh*t on airplanes. As for ESAs in general…. I get it. But someone’s comfort can be someone else’s discomfort. My mother is deathly afraid of dogs and no, it doesn’t help if people insist the dog is the SWEETEST! She’s just afraid. She would panic and sweat the entire flight but would absolutely just try and switch seats if it was e. g. accompanying a blind person. But just because you’re nervous flying? No.
Wouldn’t your mother just switch seats anyway? It’s not like the airline would know in advance that your mother has a dog phobia. A ton of people would be willing to switch their seats if she had such a problem.
And your mother’s phobia is on her. So whatever the situation is, as long as the dog wasn’t brought into her space, she would need to find a solution to deal with it. And a plane is not “her space.”
Celebrity dogs fly in the cabin all of the time because the risk is too great when they fly in cargo. Would your mother refuse to fly?
My mother’s phobia is on her? Then so is someone else’s anxiety.
It pisses me off that people seem to think their comfort should come before anyone else’s. My mother is perfectly fine flying. If there is someone who cannot get by without their service animal, she would try to accommodate them. But to act like they wouldn’t get in her space is ridiculous. Planes are small and cramped, I’ve spent flights trying to make space for large dogs or holding my nose because some tiny dog managed to take a giant dump inside their carrier. I make space for the dog because it’s not the animal’s fault. But I am also not afraid of them.
Your freedom ends where it infringes upon someone else’s.
And since when do celebs fly coach?
“Your freedom ends where it infringes upon someone else’s.”
YES! A MILLION TIMES THIS!
There are many uninformed commenters here making baseless statements about service animals and ESAs.
First, where exactly have you heard that you can purchase a seat for your pet? This isn’t true. Pets are either crated in cargo or in a soft kennel that fits under your seat in the cabin. Service animals and ESAs can be underneath your seat/at your feet/in your lap after takeoff unkenneled. I’ve tried purchasing a seat for my dog who is just big enough to not fit into any airline-approved carriers, but my request was refused by Delta and their partners. During the winter, many airlines do not accept animals in the cargo area, and many airlines don’t want to deal with pets and connecting flights.
And for some of us, just leaving our pet home while we visit family (of which they are also a part of) isn’t an option. Again, some of the comments here are really extreme.
But you’re talking about leaving a *pet* at home, not a service animal. I agree that it’s really hard to leave a pet. In fact, when our cat died, one of our main considerations when deciding whether to adopt a new pet was our love of travel, and what that would mean for our cat. As a pet owner, you need to decide how and if you are able to travel and make a choice accordingly. It’s frankly a good thing that they don’t allow dogs in the cargo area in the winter – that’s protecting the dog, because we know that some owners will take the risk and the airline is refusing to do so. And even cats and dogs in the main cabin can be miserable. When I moved across the country I took my cat with me on the plane and vowed never to do it again.
And yes, people have really abused the service animal designation, and that’s a horrible thing to do because it jeopardizes the ability of those who truly need a service animal to keep that animal with them. But people are remarkably selfish.
I didn’t say it wasn’t a good thing that dogs weren’t allowed in the cargo area. I do believe an alternative solution should be provided paid or not.
I don’t think these comments are extreme. People had to figure out what to do with pets when they traveled before ESAs were a thing. Boarding or getting a pet sitter is part of owning a pet. Or drive.
What?!?!? That’s ridiculous. Your pet is NOT a child. It may feel like a child, but at the end of the day, it is not a human being. Leave your pet at home like the rest of us.
Then board your pet somewhere. Plently of vets allow boarding of pets. Or don’t go visit your family. Your pet, and yes that is what your dog/cat/fish/whatever is, it’s a pet, does NOT have to travel with you every single time you decide to leave & go some where.
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but seeing a big disconnect between your comment here and your reply to emmy above.
I don’t think the comments here are extreme. Part of the responsibility of owning a pet is figuring out what to do with the pet if you plan to travel and can’t take it along. You always need to find a backup plan–friends, family, a pet sitter/boarding service. With the advantages of social media/the Internet, you can easily find someone to watch your animal when you’re away. Yes, it might be hard to find someone you trust, but not impossible if you put in the time.
I’m glad they’ve established this rule. People were taking advantage.
I am a dog trainer and I love dogs. There are so many things I could say about this. Putting even one dog in a closed confined space with 100s of stressed out people is a terrible idea. Even the calmest dog can have a panic attack. This whole untrained, online registered emotional support dog thing has gotten so out of hand it really pisses me off. I could rant about this for days. In closing, dogs should not be on airplanes unless absolutely necessary. And if on a plane, the dog should be where he/she naturally feels safest, in a den, or as humans call it, a dog crate.
Fun fact to remember: commercial passenger airlines are exempt from the ADA. They have something different they follow.
All of my pets are emotional support animals – that’s why I have them, they give me unconditional love and I return it.
Having said that, I don’t take them to Walmart and call them emotional support animals.
Exactly! I am a psychiatrist. ALL pets provide emotional support (or provide some emotional function); that is why we have pets. And I completely support my patients adopting pets if it works with their lives. But it is disingenuous to suggest that there is a difference between an ESA and just…a pet. I don’t write ESA letters anymore because the level of abuse (and liability) is absurd.
I flew from Detroit to Seattle with a german shepard’s head between my feet, because the guy behind me said he could fit “under the seat” on a full flight. Which he could, I guess, by using MY footspace. As we were deplaning, I found that the dog had chewed the sleeve of my sweater, which had fallen down between my seat and the wall. I showed it to the dog owner and he said: “oh, my bad”. The flight attendant gave me a bottle of wine as I got off the plane and thanked me for being a good sport, but I’m still mad about that sweater! I think this is a good policy.
That guy should have offered to pay you for the sweater. I mean, c’mon, his pet ruined someone else’s property!
Yes, there are valid needs for ESA but anecdotally, the scales have tipped. I know too many people who have bought a vest on Amazon simply to bring their dog on flights, into hotels, etc. The attitude is “well everyone else is doing it.” My BFF who is bi-polar and is easily stressed for years managed flights, travel, dining out, going to Kohl’s, without her dog thanks to work developing coping skills, and as needed meds, in partnership with her psychiatrist. Then she moved and had to change therapists; her new one found out she had a dog, gave her a vest and a note for the dog, with no suggestion of actually training the pooch to be a support dog or anything like that. The dog is a holy terror when out and about, my friend has ceased using any of her coping tools yet, ironically, is continuously stressed about the dogs behavior in public, but she refuses to go anywhere without it because she needs the “emotional support.”.
Yup, I’m a psychiatrist and I will no longer write ESA letters. I think it often doesn’t serve the best interests of my patients, and it certainly doesn’t serve the interests of society.
It’s so important to understand the difference between an ESA and an actual service animal. Up until recently, only dogs and miniature horses (yes, really! Check out flirty.the.mini.service.horse on IG) were legally recognized as service animals, and they have been specifically trained to address a disability. If the owner/handler wanted to enter, for example, a restaurant with their service animal, the proprietor legally may only ask two questions: is this animal specially trained to deal with a disability, and what work/task has the animal been trained to do? They may NOT ask what the disability is.
Because the rules/regulations have been murky for SO LONG about service animals, people misbehaving using/abusing their pets as ESAs have caused those with a legitimate and legal need for a service animal to deal with the blowback as well. (To clarify, I’m referring to the peacocks, snakes, turkeys, etc., not anyone who has posted here). I know that the wheels are in motion to get specific oversight, protection, and regulation for those who have a legitimate need for those service animals, which is good news.
Definitely check out the IG account I mentioned above…the owner is VERY knowledgeable about service animals, and is very open to questions as well. The changes in the laws are ongoing regarding what is a legally-protected service animal, etc.
This rule is a long time coming and I fully support it. ESAs are such a broad designation and way too many people take advantage of it. I understand some people have serious anxiety and depression but you can’t tell me you need to take your dog/cat/bird/snake/chicken everywhere with you in order to function. If your anxiety is that bad, then you need to look into ACTUAL treatment options and coping mechanisms, not a random animal that is often untrained and has no business being on a plane, a grocery store, or what have you. I understand there are service dogs who help with extreme PTSD, who are trained to perform deep pressure therapy and other specific tasks to help someone when they have a full blown anxiety/panic attack. If the service dog is performing a specific task that helps you deal with panic attacks like deep pressure therapy, then it’s a service dog. If it’s just sitting around and its mere presence is comforting, that’s an ESA and it has no business being on a flight being treated as a service animal. It is a pet, not a service animal.
If you are still on the fence about this, I recommend you watch Molly Burke, a blind Youtuber who has a service dog who helps guide her. She talks about the issues and discrimination she’s dealt with as a disabled woman with a guide dog because people take advantage of ESAs in public. She’s had Ubers cancel on her as soon as they see she has her guide dog next to her (despite trying to communicate prior to the Uber picking her up that she has a service dog), dealt with untrained ESAs in public going after her service dog, had people refuse her entry/service into stores, or demanding she produce “service dog documents” which don’t exist. There is no registry of service animals or documents you are required to produce to prove its a service animal (that’s something that probably needs to change and service dogs need to become MUCH more regulated in the USA as a whole). Watching Molly cry in videos recounting her experiences being discriminated against as a blind woman because people don’t understand the difference between service and ESAs will hopefully change your mind. ESAs should not be treated equally as service animals and never should have been.
@Amelie – Agreed, and thank you so much for sharing this.
Amelie. Totally agree, you stated it well. As someone who is allergic to dogs (and no there is no such thing as ‘hypo allergenic dog) as well as having asthma I’m happy to see the change. I was on a flight where a couple behind me were able to bring their small yappy dog onboard. They said emotional support because husband diabetic (?!). Any idea of what MY anxiety was like with potential asthma attack on an airplane. Animals that are strictly trained and certified absolutely must be accommodated I agree and trained dogs don’t approach people or jump on them. People who just can’t go any without Fluffy need to get a grip. Or stay home.
When things get so abused by people who don’t really need it, it gets taken away. I think it’s fair. Using proper documentation for service animals and eliminating everything else is a good thing.
Good, I’ve traveled with my 14 yr old dog since he was a puppy & paid the fee for him to be under the seat, It has always infuriated me that people get fake certificates online or dodgy doctor’s notes to bring their animals on without paying & following the rules I’ve had to follow. I’ve been threatened with being kicked off b/c Lucky’s bag was unzipped a couple of inches. About time they clamped down on this grift
Ok that one pic with the woman with TWO big dogs. She really needs two support animals? I’m glad American Airlines is banning this. People had all sorts of animals on planes. Who the f*ck wants to sit next to someone holding a pig? No thanks.
My friend has a registered service dog. She paid thousands of dollars to have the dog properly trained, she had it trained to deal with her specific disabilities, she has it registered and carries around the paperwork everywhere to make sure that if a business asks, she can provide that information.
Her dog has been attacked MULTIPLE times when out at restaurants by other people’s “emotional support” dogs. And my friend has then been screamed at by these dog’s owners.
There really needs to be recognition and rules around service dogs and ESAs because my friend, who has done everything she needs too and absolutely needs her service dog, has paid the price of other people abusing the current system.
There is a huge difference between service and esa! It sounds like your friend visits establishments that allow any animal. Which might be a health code violation or safety violation and your friend would be right to press charges in an attack.
When you say your friend’s dog is “registered,” what does that mean? There is NO national service dog registry in the USA and it is illegal for a city to require someone to register their dog as a service dog under the ADA. Service dogs are subject to local dog registration and licensing rules like any other dog, but there is no special registration that people must do specifically for their service dog. Any service dog registration you see online that gives the dogs “documents” and “ID” are all scams. It’s all outlined here on the ADA if you’d like to take a look: https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
Also it is illegal for a business to ask someone to provide documentation that their dog is a service dog. A lot of businesses either don’t know this or simply ignore it but it’s still against the law. All that info is provided in the ADA link. Your friend shouldn’t have to carry around that documentation (and whatever documentation she has isn’t nationally mandated so I dunno where she got it) and I’m surprised she doesn’t know this since she uses a service dog.
. can’t delete comment, sorry.
Here to say that I would pay TRIPLE to be in a plane full of kittens and cats 🐾💙🐾💜🐾💕🐾
About time! Next they need to tighten the restrictions for ESA in housing!
Why should the neighbor in the apt above me be allowed 5 “esa” pitbulls?? Too many people abuse the system.
(I don’t know if it’s common with other breeds but pitbulls get “the zoomies” and pay Nascar running around like maniacs for 20 minutes at a time. My neighbors’ dogs prefer every night around 11pm)
How about they have some flights that are people only no pets, no service, no emotional supports and charge extra for it.
One huge problem with animal owners in general is that they ALWAYS say their animal is friendly/sociable/gentle/not a hassle/won’t be a problem.
And yet when they’re barking/shitting/slobbering/jumping/biting, the owner turns a blind eye.
If animals aren’t trained and registered for service, they’re just a pet you want to bring along.
While I agree with this, all major airlines need daily pet friendly flights going to major hubs. For some people, flying is the only reasonable form of transportation for things like moving over seas. Putting animals in cargo is down right dangerous. Plus, you have to keep in mind, airlines lose cargo ALL the time. Most people whose circle include ppl who can afford to fly know someone whose bags have been lost. They’ll do it to our pets too.
The craziest story I’ve heard was while researching my favorite breed of dog, newfies.
This woman had to travel with her two. The airline lost them. 300lbs of living, breathing, furry dogs lost.
I think if there was a safe and accessible way to fly with pets, there would be a lot less abuse of the ESA system.