http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2017/06/marlin_jackson_support_dog_bit.html
This article has (graphic) photos of the victim’s face. This poor guy is going to be scarred for life. I hope he gets multimillions from a lawsuit but I hope even more that this episode leads to a change in this ridiculous law.
We were at an outdoor concert last night. A gentleman in a wheelchair rolled up with a small dog in an ESA vest. When the music started it was clear the poor animal was in actual pain from the volume and pitch. He tried to cover it’s ears with his hands. When that didn’t help he tried wrapping it’s head in his sweat shirt. The poor thing squirmed and tried to get away for the next few hours.
I was so very tempted to tell him his behavior constituted animal abuse. But, given today’s world I’d probably have been ejected and maybe even had a visit with law enforcement.
The whole this is just plain STUPID.
Who pays in the lawsuit? The guy, the airline? The government that made the laws about forcing planes to take service animals?
This whole thing smacks of people dragging around kids with sensory integration disorder. At some point, if your kid is screaming and holding their ears, yeah, just MAYBE it is torturing them to take them to a museum or concert or play. EVEN if they have a right to go there!!!
To force the result of accommodations on anyone is not right. The policy needs to be different, and frankly if they make a fat person buy two seats, damn straight someone with a dog at the very least needs a separate seat so they are between the dog and the adjacent person.
However, I can also give you many converse examples where people are intolerant of things like elevators for the handicapped and handicapped parking spaces. Where daily life is at stake with little inconvenience to others.
I’m trying to figure out how people survived for so many years without these emotional support dogs? Honestly, they really didn’t show up in public places so much until it became ‘fashionable’ to carry a dinky dog in your purse.
I spend a lot of time in Home Depot, which can be a very dangerous place. People have started bringing their dogs in while they shop. Once I was pulling lumber and a dog and leash got tangled up in my legs. I was so concerned about safety that I actually spent the time to find a manager to complain. I cannot figure out why someone would bring a dog into a Home Depot.
@dietz199 said:
At the risk of sounding like a broken record:
NO BUSINESS must accept an emotional support animal: not stores, not concert venues, not restaurants. If they are accepting emotional support animals (ESAs), it’s because they just don’t mind, don’t want to argue, or don’t understand the law. Unless you are a landlord or a transportation entity, you can legally tell an ESA owner to pound sand.
As a minimum, Emotional Support Dogs should pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test It’s really very simple for any trained dog.
There is really no way for an average flight/gate attendant to evaluate dog aggression issues. Do they provide training?
I am really baffled why a 50# ESA dog is allowed to sit on the owner’s lap or between his feet. Lap children are limited to two years which is about 35#.
Post 142–the fat person who needs two seats is still a person.
Elevators for the handicapped? Very glad I don’t need one presently.
Handicapped parking spaces? I know they are there for very good reasons. And I know people who abuse that privilege big time. I can ignore the parking spaces as an inconvenience but I’m not stuck 40K feet up in the air dealing with them.
The man who was attacked got 28 stitches and will need plastic surgery. He has a lawyer too so we know where this is going:
I hope there is some mention of the dog’s owner himself as being responsible.
But they aren’t all dogs. Cats, birds, bunnies, iguanas are all ESAs. Service dogs ARE dogs (or a pony), but ESAs can be anything.
“Let’s put the facts straight. The reason these dogs are not allowed for transportation is not the danger they present - it is that they themselves can be in danger from traveling:”
No. But the person who came up with that wonderful bit of PR surely got a bonus.
@gouf78, since I’m guessing you did not read the article @BunsenBurner posted, here’s an excerpt:
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@mom2collegekids I think K-12 is where there could be a problem due to allergies.
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Absolutely. The same schools that will dictate that no one can bring a PB&J sandwich are going to have seriously conflicted positions if/when they allow a student to bring an ESA. And once ONE child brings an ESA, soon there will be 5 or 10 or more in each classroom.
Who’ll need a fidget spinner when they can be petting a pooch?
@gouf78, we are on the same page when it comes to ESA cheaters etc. I just wanted to highlight that the policy of no short nosed dogs due to danger has been misquoted: it is only applicable to cargo transport and not because the dogs are deemed dangerous. I agree completely that something needs to be done about this “my pet goes with me everywhere the rest be damned” attitude and gaming the system.
Right, but that has little to do with the subject, because the ESAs aren’t stuck in steerage, they are taking up valuable space in coach and first class.
Right, but the policy has been mentioned as a reason why Delta should have not accepted the dog… That policy would not have helped.
The dog should not have been on the plane in those circumstances, period. The breed doesn’t matter. My 50lb golden , a dog that often sleeps on the bed or a sofa with me and would never, ever bite anyone, shouldn’t be expected to sit on my lap for a plane flight. It’s not fair to her, it’s not fair to the person next to me who has a fear of dogs, is allergic, or just doesn’t want to be shed on. There isn’t enough room in an economy airplane seat. Clearly, the whole ESA thing is completely out of control, and is putting people and animals in abusive situations.
BTW, the only dog that ever tried to seriously take a chunk out of my face was a Yorkie.
The only remotely reasonable situation for a dog that size to travel in the cabin of a plane would be if the owner paid for the window and middle seat, and the dog was in the window seat area, with the owner in the middle as a buffer. But that never happens, since the whole thing is a scam to get away with free transportation.
The 50 pound dogs don’t sit on your lap. My niece’s 30ish pound dogs is on the floor, either behind her knees or under the seat in front of her. The dog cannot block her feet for take off.
IMO, the dogs should always be in the window seat, against the window. Owner then has a path out to the aisle.
That dog should be put down. As far as the vet owner, I’m not giving him a pass. If his condition was so disabling, he could have and should have had a service dog and not an ESA.
I hope the victim includes anyone and everyone that he can in the inevitable lawsuit. This is appalling!
I’m trying to imagine my 20lb dog having enough room on the floor much less a bigger one. My 4 lb yorkie could fit under the front seat, but not my bigger dog.
This is out of control and often a scam for free travel. Suggesting that the dog have a window seat just brings up the question of does the owner pay for that seat or is the airline expected to provide for free??
According to this link, the dog was sitting in the owners lap in the middle seat when the victim boarded. Ok, it’s hard enough to get into a window seat when the middle seat passenger doesn’t get up and move to the aisle so you can get past. But to have to squeeze past a guy with a 50 pound dog in his lap? Totally unreasonable. Where are the reporters looking into the owner and his background?