^^Wayyyyy too funny!! 
I wonder if the professor who was seated next to the woman will boar his students with the details of the story tomorrow?
I did see a local grocery store have a sign that said the storeâs shopping carts arenât a place for a service animal to be placed.
Duh! If the animal is in the cart, it is a dead giveaway that the animal is NOT a service animal. What kind of task would a dog perform from a shopping cart? I suppose a seeing eye dog can help the owner to stir the cart in the right directions or grab items off higher shelves. 
maybe the sign meant to say the cart wasnât a place for a purse animal (those little pocketbook doggies) (purse animal/ service animalâ I suppose someone could get those confusedâŠ)
If I were seated in the same row as a 70 lb. âserviceâ pig, the airline and the FAA would be hearing from me. The requirement to accommodate emotional support animals does not trump safety, and that animal would have blocked my egress. Glad it wasnât allowed to make the flight in the end, but even letting it on the plane was a bad call. I understand that the rules, the desire for customer service, and the stress of the airline jobs makes things tough, but letting that animal board at all was not the right call.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/us/sorority-sister-dog-dispute-trnd/index.html
This is an interesting case.
Sounds like it will be the one who signed the lease first, which seems a fair way to resolve the dispute.
Now if only airlines would have to put up an alert on any flight on which a dog, pig or other animal was already booked, so fliers with objections or allergies could book something else. I donât know how airlines resolve the allergy versus service animal problem.
^^ I agree.
Last month I was on a Southwest flight where there were 5 (count 'em - five!) animals in the seats just around mine. One cat beside me, one dog behind me, one dog across the aisle from me, one dog in front of that person and another one two seats in front of me. It felt like a pet store. Lord only knows how many more animals were on the flight â those were just the ones I saw. It really was ridiculous.
You canât always judge a case by appearances, however. I speak about mental illness frequently in Maine, and one of my co-speakers has schizoaffective disorder (combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). She has a chihuahua for a service dog. This dog went through extensive training and can tell his owner if something is real or not. When the woman taps the dog on the shoulder, he puts one paw forward if thereâs something there. If thereâs not, he lies down. It has changed the womanâs life! Before, she was constantly asking people around her if things were real, and it was very irritating. Now she takes the dog everywhere and has gained a lot of confidence. She speaks up to five times a week and has written two books. She says that people often look at her funny and one guy in the grocery store even challenged her - âWhat do you need that dog for?â She calmly replied that it was none of his business. I admire her a lot.
ML, per ADA, that is a legitimate and allowed question, not a ridiculous challenge. The business can inquire what the dog does, but they canât ask about the nature of the disability. Her reply was out of line. She was lucky that she was not asked to leave the premises. A simple âit is my seeing eye dogâ is sufficient.
MLâIâm wondering how someone who speaks up to five times a week and written two books comes up with MYOB as an acceptable explanation even if it is the grocery store.
While the question may be rude at first glance, the answer is even ruder. It misses an opportunity to teach (if thatâs a goal). She needs a business card for her website (sheâs got two books) to reply rather than a MYOB.
@BunsenBurner âWhat do you need that dog for?â Is not one of the two questions it is legal to ask a person with a service dog. In situations where it is not already obvious, a business can ask 1) if the dog is a service dog required for a disability and 2) what task the service dog is trained to perform. No other questions are legalâin the case of a trained service dog as ML describes. I donât think a service dog owner is required to answer any question posed by a random shopper in a store.
Of course, if that was a random shopper, the owner is under no obligation to answer. Here, Costco successfully fought off a lawsuit by a lady that refused to answer the employeesâ question what the dog âdid.â If it is obvious what the disability is (person is blind, being led by the dog), no questions are allowed. In any case, a rude answer is not the right answer.
ADA FAQ:
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html
Interesting that dogs in training are not covered, only the fully trained helpers.
Anyone missing their ESA snake?
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/snake-surfaces-in-seattle-apartment-toilet/
It wasnât a grocery store employee - just a random customer. It does seem unfair that she has to say, âHe helps me know if Iâm hallucinating or not.â
No, she does not have to go that far. A simple âseeing eye dogâ would suffice. After all, the dog helps her see - that is the function he is trained to perform. 
And if that was a random customer, of course, she was under no obligation to answer. Snapping at the (stupid, nosy) person, unfortunately, would only light more fire under their nosy rear end.
No, she does not have to go that far. A simple âseeing eye dogâ would suffice. After all, the dog helps her see - that is the function he is trained to perform. And if that was a random customer, of course, she was under no obligation to answer. Snapping at the (stupid, nosy) person, unfortunately, would only light more fire under their nosy rear end.
How about âhe helps with vision issuesâ? I donât think every person asking a question is stupid or nosy.
Back to the pig. If the oxygen masks drop, should the owner make sure the mask is on the pig and straps tightened before putting on their own? Also, is the pig trained on how to use the slide in case of emergency evacuation? :-t