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1. Do Airlines Have Double Standards for
Canines, a must to understand? – Part 2
The last flightItookwithPennybackin the beginningof October,we encounteredaslightissue.We
traveledonan airline thatwe have usedseveral timesinthe pastwithfourdifferentpuppieswithout
any issues.We checkedinandboardedourfirstflightoutof Minneapoliswithoutanyissuesotherthan
our plane wasdelayed.Noquestionsaskedabouther,or“paperwork”forher.Pennywasa supergood
girl and waitedinthe terminal verypatiently.We boardedthe flightduringthe pre-boardtime sowe
couldgether all settledin.She sleptalmostthe whole flighttoDenverwhere we hadaplane change.
Because ourflightwasdelayedwe basicallyhadenoughtime togetoff the firstplane andwalkto to
gate to the nextone where theywere alreadyboarding,sonochance to pre-board.
We getin line andthe agentat the deskcallsout to usand asks if we are on the flight.Whyyes,of
course we are. She thenaskedtosee our ticketsbecause she hasnothinginherpaperworkthata dog
was scheduledonthat flight.We were pulledoutof line (infrontof everyone) andquestionedabout
howwe bookedourflight,where our“paperwork”forPennywas,andwhydidn’twe have clearance
fromthe airline’s“medical”department.Whenwe statedthatwe hadalreadybeen onone flightthat
day withthe airline the agentwasquicktosay that whoevercheckedusinatthe Minneapolisairport
messedup.
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2. Long storyshort, ittookover 20 minutesof thisagenttellingusthatwe neededpaperworkandwere
supposedtogetpre clearedthroughtheir“medical”departmentforPennytoflywithus.She saidthatit
statedveryclearlyontheirwebsite thatthese were the necessarystepswhenyouflywithaservice dog.
I admitI was notfullyhonestwiththeminlettingthemknow thatPennywasstill intraining,Butthey
didn’taskeither.Theyneveraskedwhatshe wastrainedforor if she wasa service dogoran emotional
supportdog.I was terrifiedthattheywere onlygoingtoallow hertoflyincargo and if that was the case
we were goingto have to renta car and doa two-daydrive home fromDenver,Iwill notputone of my
puppiesincargo,so I didleave thatdetail out.
At one point,anotheragentexpressedconcernthatthe flightmightnotleave ontime because of the
situationandthe agentincharge said,“Don’tworry,we can putthemon the nextflight.”Well thatisn’t
fair,we hadn’tdone anythingdifferentbookingthistripthanIhad inthe pastwithpreviouspuppies.
The last thingI wantedtodo was sitinan airport longerthanI had to witha youngpuppyjusttryingto
gethome.We talkedwithasupervisorandthenonthe phone withthissocalled“medical”department
and we were finallyallowedtoboardthe fight.
Whenwe got home,I wenttothe airline’swebsite andnothingthatthe agentclaimedwaswrittenas
policywasthere.Andwhatwas Pennydoingthroughoutthisstressful ordeal?Laying quietlyatmyfeet
beinga model example of howaservice dogshouldbehave.Notasingle soundoutof her,nota single
tug on herleash,barelyachange in herpositionthe entire time.Ontopof that whenwe wenttoour
seatstwo otherpeople haddecidedtositthere because the seatswere nexttoeachotherand their
assignedseatswere not.We hadto walkdownthe aisle pastour seatsand waitwithPennyinthe aisle
as theyshiftedseats.Pennywasthenforcedtowalkbackwardstoour seatsbecause there wasnot
enoughroominthe aisle forherto turn around.She didso withoutaproblemorfuss.She backedup
downthe aisle,intoourseatsand laidrightdown.I hearda few passengersbehindustalkingabout
whatan amazingdogshe was.We had never trainedforthisspecificscenario,butbecause we hadbeen
workingwithherinstoreswithshoppingcartsand tightspacesand restaurantslearninghow tosettle
undertablesshe wasable to adaptin thislessthanideal situation.Butshe isthe dog that wasalmost
deniedboardingaplane.
Nowmostpuppyraisersare raisingforspecificorganizations,andthose organizationshave theirown
policiesaboutwhetherornottheywill allow theirpuppiestravelbyplane.Asanexample,whenIwas
raisingforGuide Dogs forthe Blind,I hadto submita travel requestformbefore we wentanywhere out
of ourhome area witha puppy.We had to getthat approvedbyour group leadersfirstandthen
approvedbyour communityfieldrepresentative.Peopleabove me hadto make the final decisionon
whetherornot the puppyinquestionwasreadytotravel,andairline travel requiredevenmore thought
before approval.Theykeepveryclosetabsonthe progressof theirpuppies.
We flewwithRicki onaveryshort flighttosouthernCaliforniawhenwe were raisingherandbecause
she had a little bitof anxietyonthe flightthere andback,nothingmajorjusta little panting,shakingand
unsettledbehavior,butenoughthatwe were notallowedtoflyheronour followingtripto Las Vegas.

3. We drove instead.Nownoteveryorganizationisasstringentasthis,butmanyorganizationswill not
allowone of theirpuppiestobe putintoa situationlikeairline travel if theyare notreadytodo so.This
isanotherfactor inwhy I don’tunderstandwhyitisso hardto flywitha puppyin trainingwhenitisso
easywithan ESA.There are safe guardsin place formany puppiesintraining,butthe airlinesare not
aware of these either.
Everytime we have traveledwithapuppy,the airline crew wasalwayssohappytosee a well-behaved
dog ontheirflight,like itisarefreshingchange.Theymustbe usedtostressedout,outof control ESAs. I
wouldbe willingtobetthat the chancesof a puppy/dogintrainingbeingbetterbehavedorbetter
preparedtoflythan mostESAs onflightsisalmosta guarantee,butitisthe puppyraisertravelingwitha
puppyor dog intrainingthathas a higherchance of not beingallowedtofly.Noone evertalksabout
this.ThisissomethingthatI thinkreallyneedstochange.I’mnotsayingthatESAs shouldbe banned
fromflyingeither.I’msure manypeopledobenefitfromthem, andthatmanydogs dobehave
appropriatelyonplanes.Buttoallowanydogwithjusta note froma doctor isnot enough.There really
shouldbe some sortof regulationputintoplace toprotectthese animalsandthe people thatencounter
them.Proof of canine goodcitizenshipatthe bare minimum, butmore wouldbe better.Eachtime I
travel witha puppy,ona plane or not,it has alwaysmade a bigimpacton that puppy.Theygrow so
much onthese tripsand travel isveryvaluable intheirtrainingprocess.I’msure thatishelpsthemto
become betterservice dogs.
Noteverypuppywill be readytotravel byplane while itiswitharaiser.Many puppieswe have raisedI
wouldneverhave putona plane.There isno waythat it wouldhave beeninthe puppy’sbestinterest.I
will alsobe the firstto admitthat travelingonaplane witha puppycan be verystressful forme,butmy
puppy’sneedsalwayscome first.IpickflighttimesthatIthinkwill workbestformy puppy.Iwill planfor
layoversif Ithinkthat flightlengthwill be tooklongwithoutapottybreakformy puppy.Iwill payextra
for more footroom some mypuppywill be more comfortable.Itisusuallynotarelaxingflightforme
because Iam alwayswatchingandready to repositionmypuppyif neededorrespondtoanythingmy
puppymay needtokeepthemstressfree andcomfortable forthe flight.DuringPenny’sfirstexperience
flyingIspenta goodportionof the flightmovingherfeetoutof the aisle andkeepingherfromtouching
the personnexttous. She didn’tmindthatI keptrepositioningher,butIwasn’table torelax at all
duringthe flight.Ineedformy puppiestohave agood experience oritmayleave a lastingbad
impressionforthe puppyandpossiblyanyone else onthatplane.
I do everythingIcan to prepare mypuppiesforflight.We practice lyingquietlyunderseatsforlong
periodsof time.We take tripson crowdedloudmasstransit.Itake themto the busiestshoppingcenters
I can find.AnythingthatIcan do to simulate goingthroughanairportand sittingona plane.The more I
can get themusedtothese thingsthe better.
Do all people whotravel withESAsthinkaboutthese thingsorjustthattheywantthe belovedanimal
alongand/orthinkthe trip will be toohard to dowithoutthem?Isthere anyone coachingESA travelers
on howto make the trip easierontheirpet?Idon’tthinkpeople reallythinkaboutall of thiswhenthey
decide totravel withananimal.I knowthatwhenI have beenpreppingandmakingplanstotravel with
my puppiesbyplane mycoworkersoftenmake commentsof “Ineverthoughtof that” whenItalk to

4. themaboutthe prepworkI do to make the trip a successful one forall involved(thatincludesthe flight
crew,otherpassengers,the puppyandmyself andanyone inmytravelingparty).
So whoisadvocatingfor the puppyraisersor trainerstryingtotravel while trainingwiththeirpuppyor
dog?Service dogusershave the ADA (AmericanswithDisabilitiesAct) tofall backon wheninpublic,and
the ACAA (AirCarrierAccessAct) protectsservice dogteamsand ESAsinthe air.But puppyraisersdon’t
have anythinginplace,andneither doownertrainers.The foundationthese raisersinstill intothese
puppiesisthe reasonwhysomany dogsmake it throughthe trainingprocesstobecome fully
functioningservice dogs.Withoutall the hardworkpuppyraisersdoand all the situationsthey expose
and workthese puppiesthrough,therewouldbe alotfewerservice dogs.Butforsome reason,the
airlinesdon’trecognizethis.The airlinescanreallyhelpinthe trainingprocessandthe benefitsthat
these puppiescanreceive byallowingthemthe access.
Some of the largerservice dogorganizationsdohave certainagreementswithspecificairlinesfortheir
program puppies.SouthWestAirlinesallowsCanineCompanionsforIndependence puppiesontheir
flightswithpermissionandproperpaperworkfromthe organizations.Butwhataboutthe smaller,lesser
knownorganizationsorownerswhotraintheirowndogs?Theymaynot have the resourcesto make
these same arrangements.Doesthatmeanthatthe raisersinthese situationscan’thave the same
opportunitiesfortheirpuppies?Orthatthe dogs theyplace are not as entitledorimportantasthe
largerorganizations?Howaboutthe numberof raiserswhodon’tlive close toan organizationwhere
the formal traininghappens?There are anumberof organizationsthatallow theirraiserstolive
anywhere inthe U.S.as longas those raiserswill be willingtotransportthe puppiestoandfromthe
organizationwhenneeded.Thinkhowmuchthose organizationsandpeople withdisabilitieswould
benefitif transportingpuppiesonflightswere allowed.Itwouldbe awin-winforeveryone.The
organizationswhodependonthese arrangementswouldgetmore raisers,potentially,andtherefore be
able to produce andplace more service dogswithpeople whoneedthem,andthe puppieswouldget
valuable traininginthe process.Icanguarantee that the people whoreceive thesedogsfromeventhe
smallestorganizationorwhoowner-trainthinkthattheirdogisjustas importantandshouldhave had
the same opportunitiesasapuppyor dog froma large organization.
So I ask youthe public,service dogusers,puppyraisers,orjustsomeone whousesairline
transportation:Whowouldyourathersitnextto on a plane?Orbetteryet,airline executives!Maybe
youshouldaskyour flightcrewaboutwhoand whattheywouldratherhave to deal withat workbefore
youwrite and implementapolicy.A personwithapuppywhois beingraisedandtrainedtobehave
appropriatelyandtobe comfortable withairtravel—orsomeone withapetdogor, insome cases,a
turkey,iguana,monkey,parrot,oranythingelse,thatistravelingwiththatanimal eitherbecause they
needitfor theirownmental healthorfakingitto avoidthe extrafeesinvolvedorthe requirementto
put theirdogor otheranimal incargo fortransport.A petthat may or may nothave beenconditioned
or mentallyable tohandle the stressof beingonanairplane.Maybe itistime to speakupnot only
aboutthe dogswhoshouldnotbe onplanes,butthe oneswhoreallyshould.
For more detailson our products and services,please feel free tovisitus at: service dogin training,
sdit, service dogin training acronym, service dog, service dog law.