Dog "incidents" in UA terminals; Slow Response Gives Paws {Consolidated]
#16
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Programs: UA-GS 1MM), Hertz Pres Circle, Starriott Titanium)
Posts: 1,966
I need to see if I can fit my 5 year old son into one of these "emotional support animal" vests. His tickets are getting too expensive.
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: RNO
Programs: AA/DL/UA
Posts: 10,766
I wrote it that way on purpose. They are one and the same as far as I'm concerned. The owner's responsibility to clean up the dog doo-doo is no different than her responsibility to clean up her own doo-doo if she were to have an accident (i.e., I'm giving the dog the benefit of the doubt and saying that it was an accident; it's still a disgusting mess and you need to clean it up!!!).
#19
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Houston
Programs: UA 1K and Million Miler, *A Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hertz Five Star,
Posts: 1,301
it was this past sunday afternoon, super bowl sunday, at terminal C newark, gate 111. a pomeranian wearing a “service animal” vest pooped on the carpet in front of the boarding lanes. nobody was in that immediate area because the flight was delayed. the human who was accompanying the “service animal” fled the scene, carrying the offending pooch away in a small bag without attempting a cleanup. a waiting passenger immediately got up and told the gate agent, who made a call, presumably to maintenance or facilities or whatever department one calls to report a feat of doggy derring doo.
the same passenger who reported the poop immediately stood guard and made sure nobody wandered into the area. he was great… really calm… never once got hot under the collar. after about twenty minutes, a pilot wandered by and the passenger asked him if maybe he could get somebody to tend to the mess. the pilot went back to the gate agent, who made another call, but apparently she was barking up the wrong tree because nobody came to clean it up.
then the pilot saw a cleaning guy, somebody wearing a “lisbon cleaning services” shirt. he pleaded with him to clean it up… the cleaning guy said he would dispatch somebody with gloves. in the meantime, he rolls a garbage can and a recycling bin into the vicinity and rearranges the boarding lanes ever so slightly so nobody can get near the area. or so he thought. at least one person did walk through the poop zone and another dragged a rolling bag through, taking some incremental excrement with him. to be fair, though, he did walk through lane #2, so i suppose he should have known better.
about ten minutes later (a half hour or so after the dog did his business), somebody arrives... gloveless.
there is much discussion and negotiation between the two cleaning professionals… and much surveying of the area. the gloveless wonder takes a wet rag and applies it directly to the dog treat by attaching it to the end of a swiffer sweeper type device and presses down and scrapes. this is exactly the opposite of what i would have done, but, heck, i didn’t have any gloves either. (there’s a lot of stuff in my carry on - life on the road can be ruff, after all - but i don’t carry a pooper scooper or latex gloves. if the dog needed to charge his iPhone, however, i would have been ready to assist.)
so the guy scrapes and presses down hard, which essentially grinds the doggy doo deep into the carpet. then he disposes of the rag. then he comes back with a mop (i kid you not) and he proceeds to mop up the carpet while pressing down hard. (i’m no cleaning pro, but I didn’t know mops could be used on carpet… the things you learn as a frequent flyer!) this continues for a minute or three during which he manages to spread what’s left of the dog’s surprise (and no delight) over an area of about five or six square feet. he looks at the mop, he looks at the “clean” area, nods with a satisfied smile and places the mop back in his cart, perhaps to be used again on some other unsuspecting surface.
forgive me while i rant (although i realize some might consider this dogma), but i thought this response was kind of crappy… not only did they take a half hour to clean up the carpet after this dog did his business, but they left the carpet smelly and stained and riddled with bacteria. what they needed was some of that super absorbent industrial dry powder that is made specifically for cleaning up things like this and other unpleasantness. and then they needed to cordon off the area until they shampooed it and sanitized it.
that’s the leash they could do, in my opinion.
the flight left about three hours late, after a gate change. i didn’t stick around to see what the peacock did.
the same passenger who reported the poop immediately stood guard and made sure nobody wandered into the area. he was great… really calm… never once got hot under the collar. after about twenty minutes, a pilot wandered by and the passenger asked him if maybe he could get somebody to tend to the mess. the pilot went back to the gate agent, who made another call, but apparently she was barking up the wrong tree because nobody came to clean it up.
then the pilot saw a cleaning guy, somebody wearing a “lisbon cleaning services” shirt. he pleaded with him to clean it up… the cleaning guy said he would dispatch somebody with gloves. in the meantime, he rolls a garbage can and a recycling bin into the vicinity and rearranges the boarding lanes ever so slightly so nobody can get near the area. or so he thought. at least one person did walk through the poop zone and another dragged a rolling bag through, taking some incremental excrement with him. to be fair, though, he did walk through lane #2, so i suppose he should have known better.
about ten minutes later (a half hour or so after the dog did his business), somebody arrives... gloveless.
there is much discussion and negotiation between the two cleaning professionals… and much surveying of the area. the gloveless wonder takes a wet rag and applies it directly to the dog treat by attaching it to the end of a swiffer sweeper type device and presses down and scrapes. this is exactly the opposite of what i would have done, but, heck, i didn’t have any gloves either. (there’s a lot of stuff in my carry on - life on the road can be ruff, after all - but i don’t carry a pooper scooper or latex gloves. if the dog needed to charge his iPhone, however, i would have been ready to assist.)
so the guy scrapes and presses down hard, which essentially grinds the doggy doo deep into the carpet. then he disposes of the rag. then he comes back with a mop (i kid you not) and he proceeds to mop up the carpet while pressing down hard. (i’m no cleaning pro, but I didn’t know mops could be used on carpet… the things you learn as a frequent flyer!) this continues for a minute or three during which he manages to spread what’s left of the dog’s surprise (and no delight) over an area of about five or six square feet. he looks at the mop, he looks at the “clean” area, nods with a satisfied smile and places the mop back in his cart, perhaps to be used again on some other unsuspecting surface.
forgive me while i rant (although i realize some might consider this dogma), but i thought this response was kind of crappy… not only did they take a half hour to clean up the carpet after this dog did his business, but they left the carpet smelly and stained and riddled with bacteria. what they needed was some of that super absorbent industrial dry powder that is made specifically for cleaning up things like this and other unpleasantness. and then they needed to cordon off the area until they shampooed it and sanitized it.
that’s the leash they could do, in my opinion.
the flight left about three hours late, after a gate change. i didn’t stick around to see what the peacock did.
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Programs: United, American, Delta, Hyatt, Hilton, Hertz, Marriott
Posts: 14,793
I wrote it that way on purpose. They are one and the same as far as I'm concerned. The owner's responsibility to clean up the dog doo-doo is no different than her responsibility to clean up her own doo-doo if she were to have an accident (i.e., I'm giving the dog the benefit of the doubt and saying that it was an accident; it's still a disgusting mess and you need to clean it up!!!).
Bad owner.
#23
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Bay Area - East Bay
Programs: UA 1k, AS 75k, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 639
This is one of my favorite posts I've ever read . Cheers to seeing the amusing side of a gross situation! Hopefully united will add a 'failure to scoop' penalty fee
#27
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
This thread is interesting timing - today at SFO, approximately 1pm on 2/12 - got to the end of the moving walkway to the 80's gate hearing a UA employee yelling over and over - "everyone to the left" - everyone confused until you got to the end of the walkway and you saw the aftermath of dog poop at the end of the walkway (all over the place). Of course no dog at this point - whether it be emotional support or a disability, I do think pet owners need to be held accountable for these "accidents"
#28
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MBS/FNT/LAN
Programs: UA 1K, HH Gold, Mariott Gold
Posts: 9,630
#30
Join Date: Jul 2015
Programs: Unioted, Delta
Posts: 1
Funny but so frustrating
My husband and I are volunteers, and raise service animals that are bred to help the visually impaired. Starting at six weeks we put on the vest, and the dog learns early on, to get his/her business done when not wearing the vest. Real service just wouldn’t leave you those suprises!