TOWHEY: It’s time to end charade of ‘support animals’

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

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A woman flew across the United States recently, accompanied by her emotional support horse. It was a miniature horse, but still — a horse. On an airline flight. In First Class. And, it wasn’t the first.

Other so-called “emotional support animals” spotted on airlines in recent years include: pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, pheasants, kangaroos, monkeys, squirrels, hamsters, cats and every size, shape and breed of dog imaginable. Even snakes have allegedly provided succor for their emotionally troubled owners on long uncomfortable flights.

If there’s an emotional support anaconda on my next flight, I’ll be in desperate need of some “emotional support whisky.” Hopefully, the airline will oblige.

If there’s a dog, cat, or horse on my plane, the airline better have packed some body bags in the overhead bins, because I’ll be dead of allergy-induced asphyxiation before we land.

I fully understand the concept of guide dogs for the blind. These animals serve a legitimate purpose and undergo extensive training from birth. There’s a reason they’re the sole exception to most public health bylaws prohibiting animals from commercial places where food is prepared and served.

I am, however, at a loss to understand how a guide dog would assist a blind person on an airplane. I assumed that’s what flight attendants are for. I can’t imagine a German Shepherd leading a visually impaired person down the aisle and onto the wing in the chaos of an emergency evacuation. Do they train for that?

 

Do you know how much rigorous training it takes to have your pet registered as an emotional support animal? I do.

Because, I am a registered emotional support dog.

 

 

 

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/towhey-its-time-to-end-charade-of-support-animals

 

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/airlines-allowed-ban-emotional-support-animals-allow-only-service-dogs-proposal

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Airlines would be allowed to ban emotional support animals, allow only service dogs under new proposal

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed a ban on emotional support animals, as well as a restriction on the types of service animals that passengers would be allowed to bring on planes, limiting them only to trained service dogs.

The DOT announced the proposal on Wednesday, in response to the rising numbers of support and service animals accompanying their owners during air travel, and to “ensure that our air transportation system is safe for the traveling public and accessible to individuals with disabilities,” per the DOT’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

“Today’s NPRM is intended to ensure a safe and accessible air transportation system. It addresses concerns raised by individuals with disabilities, airlines, flight attendants, airports, other aviation transportation stakeholders, and other members of the public, regarding service animals on aircraft,” the DOT wrote in a statement.

Under the proposed guidelines, emotional support animals would no longer be considered service animals, and actual service animals would be restricted to dogs that have been “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.”

Passengers flying with service animals would also be limited to two animals per traveler and required to check-in one hour earlier than those without, among other regulations.

 

 

The idea of actual service dogs and such for people genuinely disabled is uncontroversial, but an idea of just how out of hand things have become thanks to "emotional support" animals (ducks, pigs, monkeys, peacocks, alligators, etc.):

 

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/woman-mini-service-horse-american-airlines-dot

Woman brings mini service horse on American Airlines flights as DOT considers ban

 

https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/man-beer-dog-emotional-support

Man attempts to register beer as his emotional support animal

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/us/emotional-support-animal.html

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People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down

More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals — dogs, ducks, even insects — for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status.

 

But the spread of such animals — the vast majority of them dogs — has also been met by concerns from landlords, airlines and other businesses that many Americans may be abusing the system. Critics say that pet owners are obtaining phony certifications or letters from online therapists to avoid paying fees or to get permission to bring creatures where they wouldn’t normally be allowed.

“We’ve seen everything from reptiles to insects,” said Amanda Gill, government affairs director for the Florida Apartment Association, which represents landlords.

“Obviously, you want to accommodate people with legitimate requests, but that’s harder to do when you have so many bogus requests,” Ms. Gill said. “Everyone is recognizing that this is a growing problem right now.”

More than two dozen state legislatures have enacted new laws to crack down on fraud.

A law passed in Utah this year makes it a misdemeanor to lie about a pet being an emotional support animal, or E.S.A., expanding a law already on the books that made it a crime to misrepresent a pet as a Seeing Eye dog.

Oklahoma just passed a law clarifying that restaurants and stores have a right to keep support animals out. Virginia’s law cracks down on websites that promise to provide E.S.A. verification letters for a fee, without having any therapeutic relationship with the animal’s owner.

“A true service animal is a highly trained dog,” said Tammy Townley, a state representative in Oklahoma who supports her state’s new law. “When someone comes in with an emotional support animal, they are saying, ‘It’s my service animal.’ No — it’s something you bought a vest for.”

 

 

It's a problem in Canada as well as the US, just recently the US DOT passed somewhat conflicting regulations on emotional support and service pets, narrowing, but also expanding them.

 

How necessary are these?

 

 

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,376]

Agree its 99.9 horse feathers 

[Ban Hammer 13,407]

all we need now is an emotional support skunk.  or rattlesnake.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Ban Hammer

[Steeleballz 7,550]

 

   Airlines should never have cut out free alcohol. They charge enough on tickets to throw in a pint or two. In the history of humanity, there was no better emotional support system than free drinks, and they just had to screw with it. We should have seen this coming.

[TBoneTX 45,543]

9 hours ago, Ban Hammer said:

all we need now is an emotional support skunk.  or rattlesnake.

I have a chameleon.

I enjoy putting him on plaid cloth.

[yuna628 9,680]

I have seen many people bringing their animals into places and claiming that they are needed for medical reasons. In no way do these dogs behave like they have been certified and trained. I can see that some animals may be able to help those suffering from mental illness, trauma, or PTSD.. but they should never be 'pets', they need to be specialized dogs with training.

 

Overall I have no problems with people bringing well-behaved animals on planes, provided airlines could have a safe location for them. Understand that it's an extremely stressful thing for a pet, and the statistics are not good for animals being mistreated and dying in the hold. I would never do that to my own dog.. the anxiety of being away from me in such a situation would probably kill him. I'd like to see more airlines have specific flights dedicated to people with animals.