IFlyHarder

Dog on lap - recent flight (original thread title)

I recently flew DFW-TUS and noticed that a pax in F held a dog on her lap througout the flight (including takeoff and landing).
The dog was great (adorable, quiet) but I thought that pets were required to stay in the container under the seat throughout the flight.
Any ideas on why this dog was allowed to stay on the owner's lap?

Please let's not make this a pet vs. no-pet thread - I totally understand that some people have a problem with any pets in the cabin.

Xero

They are supposed to be in their container under the seat in front. But sometimes FAs are lenient to F passengers.

It costs $125 to take a pet carryon each way, which can often times be more expensive than a seat on a domestic flight. To think that lap children can fly free.

FWAAA

Perhaps the dog was an emotional support animal, not required to remain in a carrier. Service animals are free and not required to be caged.

Perhaps the owner was another Alec Baldwin type (Rules don't apply to me because I'm so important/famous/rich/smart, etc).

IFlyHarder

I wondered about whether it was a service animal. I didn't see any special collar which I thought they were supposed to wear.
The couple that had the dog didn't seem like DYKWIAs.

FWAAA

I don't believe that there's any legal requirement that an emotional support animal wear anything that calls attention to the owner's disability (as that disability is emotional).

Microwave

That would be my guess as well.

Neither service animals nor the owners that are legally entitled to them are required to publicly brandish themselves as such. It's a matter for the passenger needing the accommodation and the company providing the conveyance; other people do not need to be privy, and I find it least intrusive and embarrassing to leave the matter at that.

IFlyHarder

Thanks! I always learn things here! ^

Hotel_junkie

I'm always concerned about dogs and other pets on the plane because I have severe allergies. Haven't yet sat next to one yet, but I wonder what would happen if I did?

skylady

Service animals and emotional support animals may be out of carriers, as long as proper documentation is provided to the airline ahead of travel.

gemac

The label for many service animals is so that they can perform their job without being interfered with by strangers. A guide dog for the blind will become distracted if you come up and pet it. The dog has been trained to different standards of behavior if it is working and if it is not. If you treat it as though it is not working, it will go out of working mode.

I'm not sure if this is true with emotional support animals. As far as I know, they are working all the time, and do pretty much the same thing all the time, so there is no benefit to identifying them.

gemac

If you find yourself in this situation, by all means tell the FA that you need to be reseated. They will help you.

Microwave

I don't disagree with any of that. That said, neither the service animals nor their owners need to self-identify in order to be protected by law--that was my only point. It's a matter for the owner of the animal (which need not be either a guide dog for the blind or an emotional support animal) to handle that situation in whatever way he or she sees fit; if the owner feels it best to publicly identify the animal as a service animal as you lay out above, that's the owner's prerogative, but it's by no means required.

Jacobin777

I looked into and turns out AA does restrict:

"Cats and dogs are the only types of pets accepted on American Airlines."

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInforma...lingInTheCabin

carlosdca

It has to fit the definition of a "service animal".

I have a friend that flied a couple of times with his English bulldog (not a lap dog at all) as a service animal.

I am not going to go into the details of why he needed the animal here. But I will say that he traveled with an official letter from his doctor (Psychologist/ Psychiatrist) including license number, full contact info, etc. The letter detailed his condition at the time, the reason for the need of the service animal and the full description of the animal as well.

We traveled once together coast to coast (stop in Phoenix, back in the America West days) and the Dr. note was checked more than once (at check in, security, at gate, on board, etc).

You can probably "get smart" and get a note from your shrink-friend if you want to save some $$$ and you really do not have a need for the service animal.
Personally, if I ever did that, I would be very afraid of that letter falling into my employer's hands (or any other future employer's) or whoever. A letter setting a record of a emotional condition I never had. Heck!, I think it is just not right! Regardless of who reads the letter.

ESpen36

Sounds like an emotional support animal.