Southwest Said Her Service Dog Had an ‘Accident’ — And Then Required $150 for Him to Fly

A woman says Southwest Airlines refused to let her service dog fly out of San Diego – unless she paid a pet fee and stuck him in a carrier. The reason? They saw the dog have “an accident” at the airport. She denies this happened.

In her telling, she has cystic fibrosis and diabetes and relies on a trained service dog for medical alerts. She:

• Checked in with Southwest and provided her service animal paperwork.
  
• Was asked to wait while the paperwork was reviewed – roughly 90 minutes.
  
• Then was told that her dog would not be accepted as a service animal because staff said he had pooped in the terminal.

She insists the dog never left her side, remained leashed to her hip, and there was no accident. When she asked for proof, she says Southwest staff couldn’t show where it happened or who saw it – just vague “someone said” comments.

She says they told her the only way she could still travel with the dog was to pay the pet-in-cabin fee and put him in a carrier for the flight.

@er1nnh If you’re desperate for money Southwest just say that. #southwestairlines #southwest #disability #servicedog @Southwest Airlines ♬ original sound – Erinn | CF organ transplant

The relevant legal framework here is the Air Carrier Access Act and DOT’s implementing rules at 14 C.F.R. Part 382, plus DOT’s mandated forms and guidance.

The Department of Transportation narrowed the definition of a service animal five years ago so that it’s a dog, regardless of breed, individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. Emotional support turkeys no longer qualify as service animals.

Airlines may require passengers to complete the U.S. DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form, attesting under penalty of law that:

• The dog is a trained service animal
  
• The handler understands responsibility for the dog’s behavior
  
• The dog is housebroken and will behave in public.

On longer flights over 8 or more hours, there’s an additional relief attestation form. If it’s a qualifying service dog and the paperwork is in order, airlines must generally allow it to fly in the cabin, free of charge, in the passenger’s lap or foot space (subject to size and safety constraints).

However, DOT is very direct about bathroom issues. A service dog is supposed to be housebroken. If the dog urinates or defecates in the cabin or at the gate, DOT treats that as strong evidence that the animal isn’t properly trained to behave in public. That allows the airline to refuse the service animal and charge a pet fee, requiring the dog to remain in a carrier. They can also deny travel to the animal completely.

So if a dog actually did poop on the floor in front of the gate, and staff could credibly document it – there is video surveillance in airports just about everywhere – they can determine the dog is not a service animal for that trip.

Here are some simple ways you can tell that a passenger is faking that their dog is a service animal, in addition to whether it pees or poops in the terminal:

1. The dog is being fed treats, and not just meals
   
2. Their owner speaks to them in baby talk
   
3. The animal rests on pillows
   
4. There are two of them
   
5. The animal is having a photo shoot in the aircraft window

I don’t know whether this was a ‘real’ service animal or not. But a service animal who defecates in the terminal is not exempted from airline rules under Department of Transportation regulations implementing the Air Carrier Access Act.