Delta Airlines Cracks Down On Phony Support Animals

Just watching the evening news and saw that Delta Airlines is cracking down on people abusing the allowance for "companion" animals. I hope that other carriers and the cruise lines follow suit. A legimate, documented, and trained service or companion animal is fine, but people who abuse the program are essentially bullies - abusing the program while flipping the rest of us the "bird" are not.

Just watching the evening news and saw that Delta Airlines is cracking down on people abusing the allowance for "companion" animals. I hope that other carriers and the cruise lines follow suit. A legimate, documented, and trained service or companion animal is fine, but people who abuse the program are essentially bullies - abusing the program while flipping the rest of us the "bird" are not.

The Delta crackdown really has nothing to do with the issue regarding Cruise Ships. Reason being Delta allows dogs on the planes even if it's a pet. Delta's crackdown is regarding the fact the passengers attempt to claim that the dog as a "companion annimal" to avoid paying the airline fee for animals.

FYI in reference to your statement "A legimate, documented, and trained service or companion animal is fine"

• ADA does not require that service animals be certified (documented) as service animals.
  
• ADA does not mandate that service animals have to be trained by a professional trainer and or organization. In fact ADA allows the owner/end user to train the animal.
  
• ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.
  
• Because of the above it's hard for any organization , company ,etc to crack down on the abuse.
  

 

FYI in reference to your statement "A legimate, documented, and trained service or companion animal is fine"

• ADA does not require that service animals be certified (documented) as service animals.
  
• ADA does not mandate that service animals have to be trained by a professional trainer and or organization. In fact ADA allows the owner/end user to train the animal.
  
• ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.
  
• Because of the above it's hard for any organization , company ,etc to crack down on the abuse.
  

Thanks for the clarification. Just goes to show you how bullies will try to game the system.

The ADA is like no policy at all. May as well allow people to print their own handicap placards for their automobiles so that they can park in the nice wide parking spots close to the door.

Whatever happened to being a good citizen?

Thanks for the clarification. Just goes to show you how bullies will try to game the system.

 

The ADA is like no policy at all. May as well allow people to print their own handicap placards for their automobiles so that they can park in the nice wide parking spots close to the door.

 

Whatever happened to being a good citizen?

To further complicate matters ADA does not apply to air carriers. Rather the Department of Transportation's Air Carrier Access Act applies. The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) recognizes emotional support animals as service animals. The caviat is that under ACAA that only applies to persons with disabilites with a service animal OR with an emotional support animal. The ACAA ruling regarding emotional support animals does not apply to all persons with mental illiness.

Thanks for the clarification. Just goes to show you how bullies will try to game the system.

 

The ADA is like no policy at all. May as well allow people to print their own handicap placards for their automobiles so that they can park in the nice wide parking spots close to the door.

 

Whatever happened to being a good citizen?

FYI - ADA only sets the paramiters and buildout for accessible parking spaces. The qualifications to have such a placard or license plate is determined and governed at the state level.

I wonder how much power the General Public has in the matter of fake service/ESA animals. What would it take to report an owner that allows Scruffy to take a dump in the aircraft cabin? Or bite another passenger/crew?

We all need to make a united front together with the legitimate service dog owners & derail this scam.

If the flight lands in CA, that could mean $1000 fine &/or 6 months in County Jail. The state govt is greedy enough that $1000 fine per offender per day would quickly fill the state's coffers.

Now that Delta & Hawaiian Airlines have these rules regarding bad behavior definitions, & that CA & FL have fines & jail time for proven fakers...I would think that should discourage the number of fakes onboard aircraft.

Too bad video without a persons prior knowledge does not hold up in CA court.

Another thing that I don't understand are dog lovers who defend biting dogs.

When that man was bitten in the face by the 70 pound service dog last summer in ATL, & the woman who was bitten in the MCO terminal a few months ago...I couldn't believe how many people commented that dogs know something is off about someone, so the dog is justified to bite.

I have witnessed at least two biting incidents in which the bitten people had completely ignored the dogs. Perhaps it is a breed trait, both were poodles.

When I flew Jet Blue for the first time last December, I called to make sure I had all the paperwork I needed for my daughter's service dog. The first thing they told me was that they do not allow emotional support animals on any of their flights. The paperwork they required was nothing more than any other airline.

I was very happy with Jet Blue.

Just read on MSN that United denied a passenger's support animal - a peacock!

That's all we need, a flying barnyard.

Here's an emotional support animal for ya!

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev5y3w/emotional-support-peacock-airplane-vgtrn

Here's an emotional support animal for ya!

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev5y3w/emotional-support-peacock-airplane-vgtrn

Here is more:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/31/united-refused-to-let-an-emotional-support-peacock-board-plane.html

Hint: It was supposedly an emotional support peacock, all decked out in beautiful feathers... a bit "large" for the space allocated...

GC

Thanks for the clarification. Just goes to show you how bullies will try to game the system.

 

The ADA is like no policy at all. May as well allow people to print their own handicap placards for their automobiles so that they can park in the nice wide parking spots close to the door.

 

Whatever happened to being a good citizen?

Actually any business in the US can ask a person with a service animal 2 questions: is that a service animal and what does it do for you. They cannot ask you to make it preform for them.

Actually any business in the US can ask a person with a service animal 2 questions: is that a service animal and what does it do for you. They cannot ask you to make it preform for them.

Actually, the 2 permitted question:

1. Do you have a disability that requires a service animal?

2. What specific task has that animal been trained to perform for you?

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Actually it's:

1. Is that a service animal?

2. What does it do to mitigate your disability?

Actually it's:

 

1. Is that a service animal?

2. What does it do to mitigate your disability?

I stand by my earlier post ... based on this from the ADA:

https://adata.org/faq/how-can-i-tell-if-animal-really-service-animal-and-not-just-pet

Sorry,not sure the link is working. Here'sz screenshot:

Training is the key.

Support animals have no place on Airlines. Just imagine dress for business sitting next to a support pig.

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I am in complete and total support of special needs passengers and guests, as my late mother required much care to travel. However, I agree with most posters....there absolutely needs to be more regulations on support animals. People are constantly abusing the system. And it hurts the people who really need them. People who are blind, etc.. It's much too easy to "train" any animal and allow it to travel. I have had an on-going debate with, of all people, my BFF: She has type 1 diabetes. In her defense, a VERY acute case. She's in the ER at least every month or so. I love her and worry about her every day. Still, she is thinking of getting her dog (pet) certified just so he will be able to travel with her. Her dog is unstable and mean. She says she can train it to detect when her blood sugar is low. I (politely) called BS on her. She has not mentioned it lately, and I'm really hoping she doesn't do it. She's admitted to me in not so many words, that it would be nice to "have" the dog with her, rather than making an argument that she "needs" him. Again, it hurts people who really need the support dogs.

Amen to that.

I have a special needs kiddo myself and I've looked into getting a service dog for him (he's autistic) but the prices most companies that provide these kinds of dogs charge is way, WAY out of what we could ever afford. It would take us years to be able to save up the 20-25 grand I saw listed on more than one website for a single service dog. And I get it, I get why they're so expensive--you have to breed them from parents with the right disposition, you have to provide food, shelter, vet services, training which takes at least two years in some cases, have a facility where the new owners and the dogs can spend time training together before they go home. All that costs $$$ and while I understand the WHYS of why somebody would just go "Screw that. Imma buy me a vest and papers online and claim Fluffykins as a service animal." that doesn't mean I agree with them doing so.

I believe in karma so to go around claiming your pet is for emotional support and must travel with you well guess what you may soon not be able to travel at all or you might need so much emotional support you cant even get out of bed. be careful what you claim it may come back at you 2 fold.

Amen to that.

 

I have a special needs kiddo myself and I've looked into getting a service dog for him (he's autistic) but the prices most companies that provide these kinds of dogs charge is way, WAY out of what we could ever afford. It would take us years to be able to save up the 20-25 grand I saw listed on more than one website for a single service dog. And I get it, I get why they're so expensive--you have to breed them from parents with the right disposition, you have to provide food, shelter, vet services, training which takes at least two years in some cases, have a facility where the new owners and the dogs can spend time training together before they go home. All that costs $$$ and while I understand the WHYS of why somebody would just go "Screw that. Imma buy me a vest and papers online and claim Fluffykins as a service animal." that doesn't mean I agree with them doing so.

Investigate legitimate nonprofit assistance dog training organizations, not “companies.” I have a Hearing dog, others have mobility service dogs, blind people have guide dogs, etc., and none of us have paid exhorbitant fees to receive these dogs (which do indeed cost the nonprofit groups $25,000 to train). I paid a $50 application fee, and after being screened and accepted, I paid a $500 good faith deposit which was returned to me at the end of my first year with the dog.

One example of such nonprofits is Dogs for Better Lives which trains autism assistance dogs in Oregon. There are other nonprofits around the country that train such dogs.

Amen to that.

 

I have a special needs kiddo myself and I've looked into getting a service dog for him (he's autistic) but the prices most companies that provide these kinds of dogs charge is way, WAY out of what we could ever afford. It would take us years to be able to save up the 20-25 grand I saw listed on more than one website for a single service dog. And I get it, I get why they're so expensive--you have to breed them from parents with the right disposition, you have to provide food, shelter, vet services, training which takes at least two years in some cases, have a facility where the new owners and the dogs can spend time training together before they go home. All that costs $$$ and while I understand the WHYS of why somebody would just go "Screw that. Imma buy me a vest and papers online and claim Fluffykins as a service animal." that doesn't mean I agree with them doing so.

Go to www.cci.org They give service dogs to people free of charge. You can go to the web site and apply on-line.

My daughter got her second dog last May. We are also puppy raisers for the organization. I can surly vouch for the

organization. At least have a look at the web-site.