It was an onboard showdown: service animal versus fake service animal. Passengers with the fake service animal demanded they shouldn’t have to sit next to a real one, and they wanted his underseat storage space, too.
A blind passenger real seeing-eye dog. Another passenger had their own dog, claimed it was a service animal, and demanded that they not have to sit next to another dog. They said their animal couldn’t sit next to other animals or it might become aggressive.
They also wanted to be able to use the space in that other passenger’s seat where the real service animal was for their own stuff, since their pet was take up their storage space. The couple appeared upset about the blind passenger’s dog being seated close to theirs. Although properly trained (i.e. ‘real’) service animals are generally expected to remain calm around other dogs.
A nurse seated there filmed the interaction and she agreed to move to accommodate everyone. She noticed that the person with the real service animal was Ed Summers, a blind software engineer who is Head of Accessibility at GitHub. His dog is named Loki.
I mean I’ll be happy to sit with him. Yeah, I’d be happy to sit with him. Absolutely. I get to hang out with a dog. It’s an honor to sit over there.
My name is Jen. Can I sit with you? Do you mind if I just slide over? Oh, of course. Yeah. Thank you so much. Oh, an honor. Yeah.
And then I proceeded to have the best flight of my entire life with my new friend, Ed. He’s an IT guy whose entire life mission is to make the world more accessible to people with disabilities. So I would just like to take this time to personally thank those Krusty Musty Dingleberries for making a big deal out of something that wasn’t a big deal so that I got to hang out with literally the coolest guy ever.
Planes as Noah’s Ark, which two of each animal onboard, remain out of hand despite rules meant to crack down on the practice. I was on a Delta flight that was delayed hours, returning to the gate when an unauthorized ‘service dog’ was found onboard – but the passenger was allowed to fly with it anyway. Delta has even booted a first class passenger to accommodate a plus-sized woman with her emotional support dog and four carry-on bags, and allowed a so-called service animal to eat off a restaurant table inside their New York JFK Delta One business class lounge.
Here are 5 simple ways to spot a fake service animal: They’re being fed treats, and not just meals; their owner speaks to them in baby talk; the animals rest on pillows; there are two animals per passenger; and the animal is part of a photo shoot in the aircraft window.
Service animals aren’t ‘pets for someone with emotional challenges’ they are trained working animals.
Gary – you are wrong on one point. Service dogs do get treats (my daughter owned service dogs plus helps train them). Now agree a properly trained dog will not get aggressive around other dogs.
It’s been a while since we got a good ole ‘dogs on planes’ post. Bout time, Gary! *bark bark*
The Wing of Shame Award for horrible people goes to … this couple.
The service animal dilemma is solvable. Allow private organizations to issue service dog certifications based on whatever breeding/training requirements they see fit. Fraud will be avoided by requiring the organizations to carry insurance for animals they certify in the event that they misbehave in public. Airlines then simply require certification that won’t be available to those who simply want to fly with their pet. Problem solved.
Pervasive low-grade fraud like this is yet further evidence of cultural breakdown. The United States’ position on the list of high trust societies continues to slide and Karens and Kens lying about their fake as hell service dog is just one factor in the slide to a third world post Soviet bloc style low trust society. And, to channel my inner Third Way this particular societal disease is very much Both Sides – I see just as many blue haireds with these lyin-ass service dogs as I do MAGA uncles. Pro-tip: nobody luuuvveess your smelly, dumbass fUr bAbY as much as you do – leave the mutt at home.