[Patty55]

Minis are now included in service animals. How cute is that?

[rubicon]

Has our society become so fragile that people need emotional support dogs?

As a side note those pictures where dogs are dressed as humans and playing poker freak me out Ugh

[Retiring]

Originally Posted by Jimturner

Too darn many people are ITS ALL ABOUT ME these days .

Jim, that is exactly what this is all about.

I have to be honest, when I see these emotional support pit bulls walk on board the aircraft it does give me a little bit of anxiety. And I'm sure you've heard of the emotional support snakes. No that's not a typo, I said snakes.

[bobbym]

Here is the site for a ESA certification
Online Emotional Support Animal Approval & Prescriptions

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Retiring

Jim, that is exactly what this is all about.



I have to be honest, when I see these emotional support pit bulls walk on board the aircraft it does give me a little bit of anxiety. And I'm sure you've heard of the emotional support snakes. No that's not a typo, I said snakes.

And pig, and miniature horse, and, and

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Patty55

Minis are now included in service animals. How cute is that?

Not very I'm afraid.

[Sandtrap328]

Originally Posted by Retiring

Jim, that is exactly what this is all about.

I have to be honest, when I see these emotional support pit bulls walk on board the aircraft it does give me a little bit of anxiety. And I'm sure you've heard of the emotional support snakes. No that's not a typo, I said snakes.

No, I have never heard of an emotional support snake but would not doubt they are claimed. Airlines do not permit reptiles as emotional support animals. Don't worry, you will not be sitting next to a Burmese Python.

[Sandtrap328]

Originally Posted by rubicon

Has our society become so fragile that people need emotional support dogs?

As a side note those pictures where dogs are dressed as humans and playing poker freak me out Ugh

There are many veterans with PTSD that have and need emotional support dogs.

[tomwed]

It's not fair to the dogs who have to work for a living,
[IMG][/IMG]

[Retiring]

Originally Posted by Sandtrap328

No, I have never heard of an emotional support snake but would not doubt they are claimed. Airlines do not permit reptiles as emotional support animals. Don't worry, you will not be sitting next to a Burmese Python.

I’m not concerned I’ll ever have an emotional support snake on my aircraft. If I ever see one about to board, the snake and it’s owner will not fly, and it’s not up for debate. My four stripes outweigh any stripes that snake may have. And those same four stripes supersede any and all Federal Regulation.

An airplane is a benevolent dictatorship and I’m the dictator

[Retiring]

Since on this forum I have never divulged the airline I fly for, I’ll tell you about an experience I had a few years ago.

Before a flight out of Miami a passenger asked to talk to me. I took her out into the jetway and listened. She told me that while she was at the ticket counter she overheard a gentleman talking to the agent about his Chihuahua. He was planning to hand carry the dog and keep dog on his lap for the flight. The agent informed the passenger that was not permitted, he would have to buy a small crate and can keep him under the seat in front of him. When the agent told him the cost, I think it was $50 or $75, the conversation quickly switched to Spanish. Fortunately, the passenger that overheard the conversation spoke Spanish.

The man with the dog said he didn’t have the money. There was no way he could afford to buy a carrier. The agent then asks if the dog is a support dog, the man had no idea what that meant. The agent asked if he had any conditions like seizures or diabetes. The man said no. She said if you had diabetes, he could be a support dog (this whole conversation is being done with a smile and a wink). The man smiles and says, yes yes I have diabetes.

The agent smiles and says, go ahead and take your support dog on board.

So what do I do with this information? Nothing, I did not feel comfortable kicking off man and dog based solely on the word of one passenger. Did I believe her, yes. The story was just too specific for it to be fabricated. But still not enough for me to act on.

From my experience, as a Captain with a major airline, either we have an abuse of support animal regulation epidemic or a mental/physical illness epidemic.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Retiring

Jim, that is exactly what this is all about.

I have to be honest, when I see these emotional support pit bulls walk on board the aircraft it does give me a little bit of anxiety. And I'm sure you've heard of the emotional support snakes. No that's not a typo, I said snakes.

In that case, you're really going to love my emotional support elephant

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Sandtrap328

There are many veterans with PTSD that have and need emotional support dogs.

Sandtrap:

thanks for that reminder. As in many issues there are always exception to the rules. My focus was on another type of person.

As to exceptions I had a employee Marilyn who was blind and trained to type word process, etc. She was an exceptional employee. a very proud and independent individual. She had a service animal and when I first arrived it took me three weeks to discover that her dog would lay beneath her desk for her entire day.

When it was time for her to get a new dog she required time off work to travel and train with the new dog. When she returned the dog's training continued. Marilyn took the bus to work. Our office was in a business complex Opus that was designed to resemble the Olympic circles and street names as Red, Blue, etc. since they were circles they were all one way which created a nightmare for drivers. Anyway Marilyn had to train that dog to cross our street Blue Circle Drive. I had been outside and happened to watch her train. She had to dog lead her across the street when i noticed a fast moving car approaching and out of concern yelled to Marilyn.
Marilyn came into my office and strongly admonished me for interfering and of course she was right. This was a daily event for her and she had to trust the dog's judgment. It was an over reaction by me and one unwarranted

Its my way of saying there are bona fide reasons for animal/emotional support dogs and then there are all the other

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by rubicon

Sandtrap:

thanks for that reminder. As in many issues there are always exception to the rules. My focus was on another type of person.

As to exceptions I had a employee Marilyn who was blind and trained to type word process, etc. She was an exceptional employee. a very proud and independent individual. She had a service animal and when I first arrived it took me three weeks to discover that her dog would lay beneath her desk for her entire day.

When it was time for her to get a new dog she required time off work to travel and train with the new dog. When she returned the dog's training continued. Marilyn took the bus to work. Our office was in a business complex Opus that was designed to resemble the Olympic circles and street names as Red, Blue, etc. since they were circles they were all one way which created a nightmare for drivers. Anyway Marilyn had to train that dog to cross our street Blue Circle Drive. I had been outside and happened to watch her train. She had to dog lead her across the street when i noticed a fast moving car approaching and out of concern yelled to Marilyn.
Marilyn came into my office and strongly admonished me for interfering and of course she was right. This was a daily event for her and she had to trust the dog's judgment. It was an over reaction by me and one unwarranted

Its my way of saying there are bona fide reasons for animal/emotional support dogs and then there are all the other

Thank you for sharing that story. it reinforces what I believe about people. Rarely do the truly needy ask for anything. Or the people who have real disabilities try to draw attention to themselves. There are so many strong and wonderful people who are struggling who try their best and make us love them and want badly to help them.


I have never met you Rubicon, but I know so many good things about you.

[DonH57]

My comfort squirrel is all I need.