I have the utmost respect for trained service dogs and have a couple of friends who have them. They behave better on airplanes than I do! What bothers me about the whole emotional support animal thing is that, for the most part, it’s a big lie. MY animals provide emotional support to me, but I don’t claim the right to take them into restaurants or on airplanes (unless I pay the fee). I suspect there might be a few legitimate situations, but not many, and they don’t outweigh the rights of everyone else. I, too, have friends who I regarded as very ethical who have gotten the emotional support vests and certificates to be able to fly their pets or take them into hotels without fees. How do you justify this?
A tangent…but not really…
This type of nonsense doesn’t develop overnight. It developes in a society that has abdicated its’ will and ability to say "SHUT THE HECK UP, YOU ARE NOT THAT SPECIAL’.
Have you noticed the increasing number of folks in need of pre-boarding assistance? The lineup of wheelchairs looks like the start of a special olympics race. And then, have you noticed the incredibly high cure rate that takes place at 26K ft altitude? How a majority of those ‘in need of boarding assistance’ can jump up, grab their bags (with which they needed assistance upon boarding) and race down the jetway at the end of the flight?
Our number of special and protected classes grows. We are prevented from demanding any kind of actual valid documentation about the ‘problem’. That’s an invasion of privacy (hey, so is your dog at my feet or in my lap). Oh, and there is so much money to be made by litigating ‘violations’ that unless we somehow get the guts to put a stop to it, we’ll be sitting next to goodness knows what.
We rent to college students…Oh my the legal exemptions to common sense are vast an increasing. For example…did you know hoarding is a designated protected mental condition under the Fair Housing Act. Yup, the guy who hasn’t taken out trash in three months can not be required to do so (nor can we do it forcefully). We must ‘work with the individual to resolve the problem’.
But I have a scathingly brilliant idea… I’m thinking maybe a plane ticket home with assistance in packing all his trash into airline approved luggage and carry on might be the solution. After all, the trash is an emotional support device.
Really, this is just an example of getting what we deserve. And, I feel sorry for the animals.
And as for the airlines…they can’t do squat…that line of lawyers is waiting in the wings…and talk about deep pockets.
Exactly. Whose dog doesn’t offer emotional support? ESA’s were meant for people whose disabilities required the support of an animal, for instance someone with PTSD or severe depression, but whose disability did not require the assistance of an animal specifically trained to do tasks the way a service/assistance animal is.
Now “I occasionally feel a little down and my animal makes me feel better” is being used as an excuse to get pets onto planes and into housing.
I have a relative who calls this the “miracle mile.” 
I recently boarded a flight where preboarding was called and a slew of people jumped up, pushing past a man with a cannula (an oxygen tube to his nose attached to a tank.) Worse yet were all the people who then muscled their way into line to make sure they’d be at the front when regular boarding was called. My husband and I finally jumped into line, made space for the man and his wife in front of us, got them in and stepped back out. We had watched the man struggle to breathe when he arrived at the gate. I was appalled at the selfishness of a bunch of people who were all going to end up at the same place at the same time.
And now when it’s time to deplane, people aren’t waiting their turn to get off. They start walking before the people in front of them do. And this is on flights that arrive on time so it’s not like they’re in danger of missing their connection. Makes me so annoyed.
I had the weirdest opposite experience recently. Everybody was deplaning and the aisle person in my row made no move to stand up even when the queue came and passed by our row.
Eventually I said, “Excuse me, do you mind letting me out?” I think her bag was further back in the plane but she was apparently content to make me wait along with her for the entire plane to clear out. I didn’t even get an apology or bashful look when I asked her to let me out, so she was well aware that she was holding me up.
^That’s rude, too! Wow.
The airline staff should have controlled the gate lice (thats DH’s term for them) rushing to board the plane before their true time.
And that was rude for the person not to let you out. I often see the opposite- people in rows behind us jumping up, getting their bags out of the overhead bin and standing int he aisle with their bags, blocking use from getting up or out. Sheesh. A lot of people sure have become rude and forgotten an basic sense of decency.
Now these are the types of dogs that are well and properly trained.
Ugh…waiting to board and a couple just pulled up with their ESA in a dog stroller—-must be a 40-50 lb pit bull. Are you freakin’ kidding me? Their is no way this dog is fitting under any SW seat…but yet Southwest employees are all oohing and ahhing over it…because it’s now out of its stroller and sitting ON a chair in boarding area.
That’s awful, gosmom. Let us know what happens during the flight (and I hope you aren’t near them!).
Oh, I will NOT be sitting near that dog…
Wish I could post picture of dog…
You could make a pic of the dog your temporary profile pic!
That’s. a good strategy if you want to keep all the row to yourself. No one will want to sit next to you unless it is totally full.
My mother doesn’t normally use a wheelchair or cane or any assistance. She is pretty active and loves to garden and even mow the lawn or shovel snow. Yet at an airport she does use a wheelchair and does get the preboarding. Why? She’s 84. She takes forever to walk from the boarding area to the plane. She doesn’t get wheeled onto the plan, but does appreciate the ride from the drop off to the gate, through security.
She could jump up and get her bag but she’s 5’2" so needs help with that too. I have friends with parkingson’s and MS who look fine but who do need the extra help in some circumstances, like an airport.
Who I DON’T think need special boarding? Two adults flying with one 4 year old. Don’t bring so much crap if two adults can’t carry it onto a plane and stow it without a moving crew. Ever been at the Orlando airport? 20, 30, 40 ‘family’ groups getting preboarding? I’ve seen groups of 10 getting preboarding because they have one toddler in the group and ‘they need to stay together.’ It’s ridiculous, but luckily they all seem to want to sit in the first section on SW so that leaves the back of the plane for me or even better the exit rows.
The “miracle flights” are where 10 or more wheelchairs are lined up for pre-boarding but they’re mysteriously not needed at the arrival area where people have to wait for them, lol.
Great news! I hope it’s enforced.
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I just googled it. You can register your animal now as a “service animal”. They can be trained by the owner for any emotional conditions. They do not have to be professionally trained. It only cost &75 to register your dog as a service animal. Hell, now that I think about it, you probably don’t have to register your dog. If anyone ask, just says you have a service animal. You also don’t have to provide proof of your disability or the dog’s training. People will just find a way around this. Sad.
One thing the new ruling does is allow airlines to restrict service animals to dogs. No more cats (although they are more likely to be allowed to be cabin animals if they purchase a ticket as they are under 20 pounds and can fit in a cage under the seat), birds, rodents, or other exotic ‘pets’. They can also require the dogs to be of a size to fit in the row and 80-100 pound dogs may not be allowed.
The airline (or restaurant or store or other business) cannot ask what disability the owner has but they can ask how the dog has been trained to assist the owner. I think for a person with an emotional need, the person would have to say the the dog has been trained “to sit in my lap, react if I’m showing signs of stress” etc and not just that the PERSON needs a pet. For the ESA, the pet was not certified in any way, but the PERSON was certified as needing an animal - ANY animal. For a service animal, the dog (or miniature horse) is trained and certified. Some people have service monkeys that pick up things and turn lights on and off, but those will not be allowed on planes now.
My friend is training a service puppy. She was furious when a restaurant wouldn’t let her in with the dog, but the restaurant was correct. The dog wasn’t trained yet, and my friend does not have a disability that the dog has been train to assist with. Airlines have done the same thing when asked to transport service animals. The animals have to be with the person they service, not just a service animal in general.