moonbeam32751

I travel with a service dog - every time I go through airport security I am required to take off her harness and leash. Thankfully, she's light enough that I can carry her. And then I always get my hands swabbed for explosives in Orlando - even though I am holding a dog and there is no warning. I worry at this point, some screeners aren't so considerate that I am holding a dog off leash.

petaluma1

Although she has removed the photo because it was posted to @TSA under her personal Twitter account, a TSA spokesperson posted a photo of a guide dog going through screening with all its gear on. I know there is a difference between a guide dog and a service dog; maybe TSA is trying to discourage service dogs by requiring removal of all gear. Wouldn't put it past them.

MCO seems to be a very unpleasant airport to transit. I would think Disney would not be happy.

Boggie Dog

Was the lost service dog ever found? Never heard anything after the initial blast.

ND Sol

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Moonbeam! What type of service does your dog provide for you? I know that my sister certainly can't carry hers because it is way too big (and she is a quadriplegic).

The way I understand it is that guide dogs are a subset of service dogs, but therapy dogs are neither.

petaluma1

Thank you. You are correct. I couldn't think of the term "therapy" dog and so misused the term "service dog". However, I believe that some with therapy dogs try to call them service dogs.

sunshinekid

Now you can be be somewhat assured that demands by TSA to remove the harness and leash are mistakes by TSA.

"In a statement issued on Thursday, TSA officials said the agent only asked Wakefield to remove the dog’s metal leash “as it would alarm the walk-through metal detector.”

“[He] thought he was being helpful by asking her to remove the leash to facilitate screening,” TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said. “But he made a mistake and we regret this.”

chollie

???

We spend millions of taxpayer $$ to send every TSO to the 'academy' for training, but their 'training' doesn't include screening animals - pets, service dogs, comfort dogs, etc?

Will this screener get another couple weeks of a taxpayer-funded vacation at the 'academy' to be 'retrained'? Was there no one else working at the checkpoint who saw what was happening, knew better, and spoke up? Were the LTSOs and STSOs keeping an eye on things, or were they clustered off to the side , chatting with the BDOs and playing with their cellphones?

sunshinekid

The TSO "thought" he was doing the person a solid by trying to help her avoid an alarm; OR was the TSO trying to avoid having to deal with an alarm? In either instance - do a solid/avoid having to do alarm procedures - which is more likely, that the practice is institutional (LTSO and STSO) condone either practice or that the practice is a singular the individual TSO who made the "mistake"?

Boggie Dog

There is no evidence that the TSA screener was doing anyone a favor. According to TSA the screener acted improperly and should be held accountable.

sunshinekid

The available evidence is from TSA, which spoke directly to the TSO's motive

[He] thought he was being helpful by asking her to remove the leash to facilitate screening,” TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said.


Held accountable for what?

Was he acting under the norms of his specific checkpoint practices - be helpful by helping pax not alarm - which specific practices would have had the "OK" from his management structure.

Or was his "helpful" suggestion a TSA Leadership sanctioned practice to speed up processing of persons and property.

There is not enough imformation to determine his culpability. He was either a rogue or acted under orders, my money is he acted under orders. And in this specific instance (dont go goodwin on this) acting under orders means he is not to blame; we know the TSA management has in the past placed production metrics as the prime priority.

Boggie Dog

http://people.com/pets/service-dog-i...port-security/

TSA said the screener did not follow SOP and the screener will be retrained. Sure sounds like the screener is responsible and should suffer for their failure do their job. There could be others at fault too, common for TSA.

javabytes

As of yesterday night, still missing.

Boggie Dog

The traveler who owned the dog has disabilities that the service dog help with. Not easy to replace the pooch and expensive to get another trained animal. The TSA screener who caused this should be held personally financially accountable for all cost associated wih losing the dog and replacement and training expenses.

sunshinekid

Why should the screener be responsible? What about the personal responsibility of the traveler; who could have easily requested a Supervisor?

You are assuming that screener was acting 100% on his own. Do you know of the breast milk case when the TSA manager refused to follow TSA procedures - procedures he did not know, and the screeners just followed the managers lead.

The screeners instructions to the passenger were either institutionally condoned by orlando tsa management; or he was completly rogue. I still say what he did was the orlando tsa management practice; the screener just had the misfortune of being the fall guy.

chollie

Wrong.

The screener has complete knowledge of the SSI SOP and the screener is free to make up rules at his/her discretion with zero accountability. Depending on hire date, all TSOs not only have their original weeks of training, but also special training at the 'academy' during the last year, where all TSOs are taught the number one TSA rule: the screener has the final say at the checkpoint.

The pax is required to correctly GUESS what the rules will be according to whoever is working the checkpoint, and if the pax guesses wrong, the pax will be subject to retaliation.