HomerJay

I would tend to agree with you, but there truly are a number of veterans who are living with and recovering from PTSD. They need their dogs. I spend a lot of time at a dog park here in DC, and there have been at least two young veterans who have been at our neighborhood park on occasion with their emotional support dogs. I carefully talked around the subject with them, and neither wanted to go into details.

It is clear to me that their dogs provide calm and reassurance during times of stress and flashbacks. The dogs are an essential part of their recovery.

That said, how do we find a way to allow them to travel without allowing all the people who buy those damned vests on the internet and travel free with Fluffy, the emotional support Shih Tzu?

eng3

Apparently dogs even trump safety now.

mmff

My point still stands: the dog needs to be a service animal and trained as such. If it is not, it should enter the cabin of a commercial flight only if it fits in a crate that goes under the seat.

Thank god this non-sense is widespread only in America.

Collierkr

Completely agree. No one has the right to fly, but rather the privilege. Safety should always trump personal needs. I can't wait for the next big dog to "sit" next to me wherein I lay out the rules for how that dog will need to not invade my personal space.

Noise cancelling headsets don't stop dog slobber.

Peoriaman1

I thought you were kidding so I looked on Ebay. There are dozens of them available! What a scam.

I should get one for my cat.

bhomburg

That depends on the airline (and national regulations). In the US and on US airlines, passengers with approved service animals/ESANs enjoy priority over any passenger claiming an allergy.
On other airlines and in other jurisdictions, it's usually the other way around.
TK will offload the passenger who booked later in case of a conflict between documented (!) allergy sufferer and passenger with a service animal:
In the case of passengers who are allergic to cats, dogs, or birds and can prove their allergy with a medical report stating as such, no pets will be allowed in the cabin. Priority to the passenger who first booked their flight will be given in the case of passengers traveling with a guide dog who are on the same flight as a passenger who can prove allergy to cats, dogs or birds with a medical report.

I should add that non-US jurisdictions and -airlines define 'service animal' in a much narrower way than is the case in the US. In much of the world, this is limited to seeing-eye dogs only, and there's strict documentation requirements. A vest and registration off the internet won't get you anywhere there.


As someone traveling extensively with a service dog, this (encountering passengers with allergies) has happened to me three times so far in years and hundreds of thousands of miles.
First instance (8-seat F cabin on an AA 77W, 10+-hour overnight flight), the passenger seated behind us scrambled to don a full-face mask the second he saw the dog when we boarded last. You could feel him panicking.
Cabin was too small to ensure proper separation, so dog & me relocated to the rear of the business class cabin to get as much distance between him and us as possible and avoid to totally ruin his flight.
Live and let live.

Second instance was on an AA 788. 12-hour overnight flight in MCE. We had a 3-across row to ourselves on an almost full flight (I might be a small minority here, but I do book and pay for two seats when traveling in economy on flights that appear (close to) full. My dog weighs 60 pounds and is far too large to fit in the space allocated to just one economy seat even in the extra-legroom section). The passenger across the aisle claimed to be allergic. Crew reseated her towards the rear of the plane, which wasn't to her liking (much discussion between her & the crew). She returned to her original seat some time after takeoff and stayed there for the duration of the whole flight without saying anything. She could have traded seats with travel companions/family to get further away from us but didn't.
Crew told me later I should not feel guilty at all as she asked to get a seat in business class using the allergy as a reason.

Third instance was on an AA A321T. We were seated in 6D (bulkhead in business), and the passenger in 6F got to enjoy an onboard upgrade to F after he started sneezing and it turned out he was allergic. BTW, this happened twice more with passengers who were not allergic. Just friendly crews who wanted to give everyone the best possible flight, and once for safety as the crew wanted the dog to be secured below the empty seat in lie-flat mode on an especially bumpy flight.

oops... that would be me . Sorry 'bout that, but I initially misunderstood the OP on that one (clarified since). Lav for cleaning up 'accidents' = OK, lav to use as pet toilet=NO!

enviroian

My tinder date last night says she's games the system by slapping on that ESA jacket on her shitzu to avoid the fee. The date ended shortly thereafter.

eng3

I would have continued the date until I was forced to fly with her and her "support" animal.

Makes sense. If a dog is able to trump safety (blocking egress), I would assume it would be prioritized over allergies as well.

txviking

So what is the solution for those of us with allergies? In my case it's allergic asthma. I've managed it so far, but I did once have to request to be seated further away from a passenger with an "emotional support animal". Are allergy sufferers SOL?

celle

I agree. A trained service dog should be the only type of animal allowed in the cabin with passengers.

As far as US law goes, a service dog has priority over a person with an allergy. I hope that the crew would endeavour to seat an person allergic to dogs as far away from the dog as possible.

I am glad I live in New Zealand. Here, there is no confusion, A service dog is the only type of animal allowed to fly in the aircraft cabin. All other animals must fly as freight.
A true service dog will make itself unobtrusive. It will behave well and will not inconvenience other passengers.

Annalisa12

Agree.

Gig103

An erratic dog would never be a service or emotional support animal. And a normal pet, which may be nervous, must be in a carrier or in the cargo hold. I've looked into it because my dog is not nervous or erratic but I cannot buy a seat for him to accompany me.

abaheti

You are a considerate flyer, with real need for a real service animal. You should be accommodated. I applaud you trying to be considerate when allergies come up. And with a legitimate service animal, that demonstrates the training and good behavior that job demands, I am totally comfortable just figuring it out with the passenger, as they need their service animal and I need to not sneeze across the Atlantic. In the case I mentioned before, the most reasonable thing was to sit tight and deal for an hour. But neither the passenger nor the dog was a jerk, we figured it out. (In the case I referenced, it was on a regional jet, so seating was tight, and the dog just couldn't fully fit itself under him, so one paw was up against my foot in my area, but I didn't care -- the dog sat stone still the entire flight and never bothered me save for the sneezing...)

My sympathy goes away with the fake emotional support animals and the owners who typically aren't as responsible as you -- by definition, right? They are working a scam, so why would I expect them to be courteous?

wolf72

We live in a world where people will try to take advantage of the system because they either can't afford to pay or refuse to pay.

MSPeconomist

So did you sneak out and leave her with the bill for dinner, drinks, or whatever?