There are veterans who legitimately have emotional support dogs, but they are extremely well-trained, and I would really consider them service dogs.
That’s the problem with dogs in stores- the owners. We’ve had issues in our stores with owners not cleaning up after their pets, which is part of what got us in trouble in Florida.
My kids have had friends with service animals in their college housing. It’s been a very positive thing but I could imagine it could create problems for people with allergies, or dog fears. Obviously there is a great responsibility on the pet owner to care for and clean up after their animals.
The issue with me is that the animals are not trained or medically examined . Also I find no medical reason to sign the paper as well as be responsible for a pet that may hurt someone.
If we exclude the real, legitimate service dogs… More then half of dogs in the US are not properly trained, so statistically you are more likely to encounter a pet that can misbehave in public than not. And snakes? Can you really train a boa constrictor to obey your commands? Do not think so! But it probably feels nice to shop in a store not crowded by other customers! 
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There are very few people who are legitimately so emotionally fragile
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I’m still trying to picture the person who is so emotionally fragile that only his boa constrictor can calm him.
Now I’m about to burst into uncontrolled laughter on the bus!!! I would have loved to have a pet snake to support me today - the dude who sat down next to me reeks.
I wonder what all the anxietyty-prone did before we let people drag their pets everywhere, and when we weren’t a nation of wimps.
I’d love to see a licensing program that proves that your anxiety pet is under complete, effective voice control, and airlines allowed to charge every bit as much for carrying the anxiety pet as they do for other animals. My guess is that we’d see a whole lot fewer of the anxiety-control animals.
I don’t think snakes can be trained…can they? Even if they could be trained a little, I don’t think they can be trained to the extent that there can be a reasonable assurance that they wouldn’t hurt someone. Can you imagine one on a plane, and then getting loose?
Wasn’t that a movie?
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I wonder what all the anxietyty-prone did before we let people drag their pets everywhere, and when we weren’t a nation of wimps.
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lol
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My guess is that we’d see a whole lot fewer of the anxiety-control animals.
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maybe we’d see more adults carrying around their childhood blankies…complete with paci leashes…
Remember the invisible dogs that were a thing when I was about 12? They had these leashes and collars but nothing at the end of them! Maybe that’s the answer!
The invisible ones would hopefully only leave behind invisible messes to clean and wouldn’t endanger the many of us who have allergies.
My D who suffers from pretty severe anxiety wanted to get her dog licensed as an emotional support animal to take to class. She was disappointed to find that at her University ESA are not allowed in campus buildings. They are allowed in Univ housing with proper documentation. One of her roommates has an emotional support bunny.
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emotional support bunny.
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Ahh…
But seriously, some of these ESA pets seem to be just enjoyable things to have around…they make us happy…they get excited when we come home…that makes us feel good…which is what we all have pets for.
When my son was doing an internship for an eng’g company, his boss had a yorkie that was his ESA. The dog would stay mostly in her little bed by his desk…but would also wander around greeting the others around her.
A friend’s daughter was traveling across country with her cat in a carrier (paid for, in the cabin). When she got to the next plane, there was a passenger who had a note from a doctor that she couldn’t be on any plane with an animal. Her ‘no animal’ certificate bumped anyone who had an animal. She had registered this need with the airline, just as the cat owner had bought a ticket for the pet. It appears the system doesn’t coordinate the special needs. Bumped cat and owner had to go on a later flight. Soon we’re going to have the battle of the special need certificates.
My brother is very allergic to cats and he’d not be a pleasant seatmate after an hour or two next to a cat, or even next to someone who had cat hair everywhere on clothing. However, he would never think to get a doctor’s note about the pets. I wouldn’t do well after a while with a cat either, but it wouldn’t be life and death like his could turn into. I hate when people bring their pets on the flight with them. I’ve traveled on too many flights on the way to a job interview to want to sit in a seat previously ticketed to a golden retriever.
My daughter was bitten by a dog at Jo-Ann’s fabric about 15 years ago. The workers said ‘Okay, now you must take the dog out.’ Now? It wasn’t enough that a hairy dog doesn’t belong in the fabric store, but we had to wait for the dog to bite someone?
My objection to dogs in stores is because they could bite, pee, poop, get hair all over. Costco is busy enough on a Saturday without adding dogs to the mix, where they are serving food. I don’t want dogs in restaurants because their owners let them on the chairs, feed them scraps, feed them from plates. I like dogs (and cats) but they aren’t allowed to walk across the counter at my house, pee in the house, eat off my plate. I like children too but there are a lot of places I don’t take them either - the movies, the theater, certain restaurants, areas of the library where they can’t behave. I’d be okay with airlines not allowing children in first or business class, even mine. Move theaters here don’t allow any children into R rated movies, no matter what time of day it is. Adult movies, adult customers.
None of this applies to trained service animals. I’ve never seen one of those in purse or begging at a table in a restaurant. They are always doing their jobs, actually assisting their owners with hearing, seeing, watching for dangers.
I once served as a volunteer for a very well known, nationally acclaimed service dog organization. I was a breeder caretaker, so I got to witness the work that goes into making a service dog from the very beginning. At the very start of their lives, those puppies closely are monitored, cared for and trained. The level of training that these puppies and dogs receive is extraordinary, as is the time that volunteers put in to help them become the best service dogs possible. Service dogs raised by the organization that I volunteered for are so calm and well behaved that you almost forget they are there. The ESA animals that I see everywhere in my SF Bay Area community these days are nowhere near the types of dogs that were originally meant to be service dogs. Plain and simple, for most people, it is a convenient way to bring their pets with them everywhere. I was in my local TJ Maxx store last week when a lady passed by me with a dog in her shopping cart. The barking dog was sitting upon piles of clothes that she was apparently going to try on. I hate to think what could have happened if another customer with a severe dog allergy tried on those clothes after her. An authentic service dog would have been nowhere near those clothes; they would have been waiting calmly on their leash for their master’s commands. I think that service dogs themselves should come from approved facilities that are certified/licensed by local and/or state agencies. It isn’t enough to just have the dog’s owner approved.
A family I know got a couple of “reject” service dogs. These were dogs trained to be service dogs who, for one small reason or another, were not deemed fit to graduate to serve as a service dog. Despite being “rejects”, these were some of the best trained dogs I ever met, which speaks to the very, very stringent standards required of real service dogs.
One of my kids suffers from a dander allergy, especially cats. Even though the allergy is by no means life threatening, it is a huge nuisance and makes my child feel crappy - watery eyes, congestion, sore throat and raspy voice. For people who suffer like that, sitting next to a cat (or other allergy trigger animal on a plane) could be a huge inconvenience, especially if the person is traveling for an important interview, presentation, business meeting, or business or social function where its important that they arrive in tip top shape. Again, it frustrates me when one person’s comfort causes others discomfort beyond their control.
Yes, it is not really a great solution for allergy sufferers to have to douse themselves up with allergy meds because they cannot control or predict when they will have to endure prolonged flights with someone’s pet in the cabin, and dander and allergens circulating continuously throughout the flight that can be MANY hours. Many of my flights are 5-10+ long and having allergies flare because of a pseudo-service pet seems grossly unfair to me and the rest of the passengers who are just trying to get from one place to the next.
Fortunately, have not yet encountered barking animals in stores, or pets sitting on merchandise. Yuck! Things seem like they’re getting pretty out of control. I understand the need for WELL TRAINED service animals but really things are going too far in the wrong direction.
In western Europe, it’s normal to see dogs in restaurants & hotels. When we lived there, we took our dog with us all over. He would lay down on the floor next to our restaurant table. As much as he wanted to get up and greet the dog at a nearby table, we would not let him, and we could hear him softly whining.
A notable exception for dog access was the supermarket. The market would only allow non-service dogs that the owners could carry. That made our big yellow retriever an impractical grocery shopping companion.
D’s cat in cargo Iceland Air home and safe and sound.