Originally Posted by
tjtenor4
You're all missing the point.
Let's take the most sympathetic example for the dog-owner: that it's someone who needs a service dog to get around. In this case, we have two people: the dog owner and the allergy sufferer. Both people have a medical issue. The difference is, the dog owner's remedy to his medical condition - his dog - is a direct threat to the health of the allergy sufferer, while the allergy sufferer's remedy to his medical condition - getting rid of the dog - is not a direct threat to the health of the dog owner.
That's why I maintain that the issue here truly is whether or not the dog is more important than the allergy sufferer.
I'm curious here ... the dog was a working dog and headed to a training course. How do you know that the dog doesn't have overly sensitive hearing or some other trait which makes him ideal for training but jeopardizes its health or ability to function in its job that could be damaged from being underneath? or do you just expect everyone to clear the deck for the OP and their issue? Perhaps you'd suggest drugging the animal which really could screw it up both for its own well being, as well as for its ability to work at its training course. None of that matters because - clear the decks - the OP is flying today.
When the OP owns the airline they can decide who can and cannot be on board. Until then, they have to work with the airline to find the best result. In this case, the airline offered to put them on another flight - they refused for whatever reason. The airline did its job - now its purely the passengers issue.
BTW - this is a law enforcement dog -- sorry, but I'd rather have that dog be properly trained whether its helping a LEO or finding someone in wreckage more than the OP getting to their cruise when they failed to provide enough of a cushion for any delays in their own travel plans. My two cents, clearly.
ps and your example above is BS - you totally don't understand the relationship between the dog and owner (e.g. seeing eye, etc) and more clearly, don't care. Drive the next time, you'll be able to control who is sitting next to you and in front/behind you, too.