Emotional support needs as aided by service animals.
 

I understand why a blind person needs a service dog. Maybe its because I have not experienced the anxiety support annimals are supposed to relieve, I have a great deal of difficulty with Emotional Support Animals.
Pot-bellied pigs WILL fly (along with miniature horses and monkeys): Passengers to be allowed to take exotic pets on flights for 'emotional support'


The article also says
Is it going too far? People can and do try to pass their pets as ESAs doing a disservice to those really in need of a service animal.

Most children travelling alone suffer from anxiety, which is easily dealt with by a parent or another craegiver. Should children be allowed to have their parents travel for free as ESPs (Emotional Support Person).

What if I need my children and wife to be ESP? A terminally ill person may need his entire family, wife, children, grand children and great children for emotional support.

I flew on AA from jfk to lax, the woman next to me had a poodle wearing a sweater marked "service animal"--she claimed that she needed the dog for "emotional" support. My guess is that she had received some medical certification (from a Doctor(?)) affirming her and the dogs status.

My wife has a friend who brings her cockapoo along with an emotional support certification. The woman is actually crazy and on a cocktail of anti-depressants etc. Not all handicaps are visible. Emotions are a neurological state, and emotional disorders are a neurological condition.

That said, I am sure some people take advantage.

Part of me jumps to the conclusion that these people are milking the system and playing up the emotional support card for all they can.

However, let's say the person is really "off the deep end". Do I want to be seated next to this person in an agitated state (and using me as his or her listening post), or would I prefer they be happy tending to their cat or dog. Hmm

I think that 90% of people doing this are scamming the system. And if they are so needy where they might go off of the deep end without having Fido to comfort them, I'd rather not be flying with them.

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I think it's gone too far. The provision applies to people with disability, not to any one who doesn't want to pay for their pet.
Although Airlines are allowed ask for documentation, I don't kniw how many do, for fear of a lawsuit.

One woman showed up with three dogs as Emotional Support Animals. The airline agent allowed i even though she wondered why this woman needed three dogs to support her.
How did she manage a visit to the lav?
We have elites, tall people, physically disabled people, families with children and people with ESA seeking bulkhead seats. No wants to pay for them and the airlines are not allowed to charge some. Additionally there are people with allergies.
How do airlines cater to regular passengers, elites, and disabled passengers, and separate scammers from those truly covered by the law.

I'm just curious how the animals emotionally support the person? Do they give a nice pep talk?
I am in the group thinking 95% of these people are scamming and just do not want to pay for their pet.
If you need a service dog (for the blind etc.) then I think we all get it. However, a dog for emotional support does not sound so legit. I also wonder how many other flyers can be affected by these dogs on the flights. What if a few people have allergies- is it fair that they suffer?

Reminds me of this thread on the UA board. Unbelievable behavior by someone who brought a "support" animal onboard:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ce-animal.html

Thank you for directing me to that thread. I understand the need of service dogs for blind/deaf or other service animals for physically disabled people. Support animal?
Is there any way travellers can organise and provide reeasonable input to those making the laws?

Skymall sells a kit for do-it-yourself service animal certification. Check out their self test criteria.

http://www.skymall.com/shopping/deta...&pid=204351645


Some people have no shame, and this kind of crap simply makes it harder for the truly disabled.

I don't have a problem with emotional support animals per se.

I do have a problem with the lack of an adequate training system for allowing them where animals usually aren't supposed to go.

It's a non-issue with guide dogs, a guide dog without very rigorous training is worthless anyway. Many other service animals don't need major training to be useful, though, and thus lack the etiquette training the guide dogs get.

I don't care what you need the animal for, I just want it to get etiquette training similar to what the guide dogs get. Some sort of certification of this should exist (demonstration should be enough--in some cases the animals could be trained by their owner. Again, with guide dogs it's not an issue, the main guide dog training can't be done by someone who needs a guide dog so they're always professionally trained.)

True, it has made it difficult for people who are truly disabled.
Absolutely. Some people have learnt to milk the system. Over the last 15 years, more and more people, not physically disabled, are taking advantage of disability, for all kinds of things, including claiming social security benefits for a host of "designer disabilities" . Internet has made it cheaper for businesses who cater to reach the people they serve and for scammers to get the information for their designer disabilities.

A reasonable approach. I certainly do have a problem passing off their pet as aa service animal.
Do you think it's possible to train an animal to for ultra long haul flights? If one is going to take a dog on a 12-16 hour flight, can a dog hold its business for that long? The person has to be capable and willing to pickup after the animal.

I would certainly like to bring my dogs on board free, especially the one who is too big for a regulation pet carrier under the seat. They can both sit by me in my seat. Surely we can get next to an empty seat or the bulkhead, but if not my dogs are so cute anybody would be glad to squeeze in a little for them. It would be emotionally comforting to me not to have to fly alone, but it would be even more emotionally (and financially) comforting to me that my dogs would not have the stress of flying in a crate in the hold or staying behind in a kennel. My doctor who gave me my handicapped tag to get a better parking space will help me out with this, too. It's true I used to get by OK before I found out I could have my emotional support animal because I'm not really disturbed or unstable, don't use a walker, nothing like that. People who really are seriously disturbed, they need an attendant, not a dog. I would rather my dogs and I weren't seated by anybody like that.

Admittedly I only fly one to two times per month, but I find myself on a flight with a support animal only about twice a year.
I have never seen one break loose and bite anyone, defecate in the aisle, spread a bad odor, or cause someone to suffer an anaphylactic response.
Is it really such a problem? Is the concern here from busybodies who are just interested in finding a problem where perhaps one doesn't exist?

Furthermore, are any of the respondents trained mental health professionals? I understand that you might not understand how an emotional support animal works, but I bet you also don't know how hemodialysis works. Does that render them both worthless?