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1. Do Airlines Have Double Standards for
Canines? - Part 2
I have to say that as a puppyraiser,Ifindthisveryfrustratingformanyreasons.It’supsettingtohear
aboutincidentsof animalsbeingstressedouttothe pointof thembitingsomeone.But another
aspectis that the average persondoesn’tnecessarilyunderstandthe differencebetweenanESA and
a service dog.Theymightthinkthatthisis typicallybehaviorforaservice dogand cause a bad
perceptionof service dogsandlessacceptance for themoutinpublic.Thismakesitharderfor
service dogteamsto be acceptedandpuppyraiserslike me whoare tryingto raise and traina puppy
out inpublic,averynecessarypart of the processof creatinga successful service dog.
Accordingto theirwebsites,some majorairlinesprohibitservicedogsintrainingfromflyinginthe
cabinwiththeirhandler.DeltaAirlineshasontheirwebsite “Inmostcircumstances,aservice or
supportanimal intrainingdoesnotmeetqualificationsforatrainedanimal andcan not ride inthe
cabin.”UnitedAirlineshasthisstatement:“Unitedonlyrecognizesserviceanimalswhichhave been
trainedandcertified.Animal trainersare permittedtobringone service animalthatistrainingto
assistdisabledpassengersonboardfreeof charge.”Buttheyalsostate that “trainerstransporting
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service animalsinthe ordinarycourse of businessorservice animalswhoare notintrainingmust
checkthese animals.”Well,thatisa veryconfusingstatement.Sodogsintrainingare notrecognized
by the airline asservice animals,butatraineris allowedtobringone ona flight?Manyairlinessay
that theywill allowservice dogsintraininginthe cabinonlyif theyare flyingtotheirnew home for
final placement.It isveryhardto getan accurate answerfromthe airlinesonwhetherornota
service dogintrainingisallowedtoflyinthe cabin.The informationonwebsitesiseitherconfusing

2. or not there.If youcall the airline directlythe agentsonthe phone are oftenconfusedbythe
questionanddon’tknowhowtoanswer.
So if I have thiscorrect… airlinesare more likelytoleta dogor other animalsontheirairplane that
have no evidence of trainingorhavingthe temperamenttohandle the stressof flying,thanapuppy
or dog that isspecificallytrainingtohandle situationslikeairline travel andmore!Doesanyone else
see a problemwiththis?
Yes,I have flownwithanumberof puppieswithoutanissue,butIhave alsobeenturneddownby
manyairlineswhen tryingtoinquire abouttravelingwithapuppy.Itisusuallybecause the puppy
isn’ttrainedtoassistme personally.Buteachtime Ihave flownIfacedthe chance of beingturned
away.The communicationwiththe airline employeesonthe policyof service dogsintrainingisall
overthe place.You can get a verydifferentanswertoquestiondependingonwhoyouask.
The last flightItookwithPennybackin the beginningof October,we encounteredaslightissue.We
traveledonan airline thatwe have usedseveral timesinthe pastwithfourdifferentpuppies
withoutanyissues.We checkedinandboardedourfirstflightoutof Minneapoliswithoutanyissues
otherthan our plane wasdelayed.Noquestionsaskedabouther,or“paperwork”forher.Pennywas
a supergood girl andwaitedinthe terminal verypatiently.We boardedthe flightduringthe pre-
board time sowe couldget herall settledin.She sleptalmostthe wholeflighttoDenverwhere we
had a plane change.Because ourflightwasdelayedwe basicallyhadenoughtime togetoff the first
plane 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 wasscheduledonthatflight.We were pulledoutof line (infrontof everyone) andquestioned
abouthow we bookedourflight,where our“paperwork”forPennywas, andwhydidn’twe have
clearance fromthe airline’s“medical”department.Whenwe statedthatwe hadalreadybeenon
one flightthatday withthe airline the agentwasquicktosay that whoevercheckedusinatthe
Minneapolisairportmessedup.
Long storyshort, ittookover 20 minutesof thisagenttellingusthatwe neededpaperworkandwere
supposedtogetpre clearedthroughtheir“medical”departmentforPennytoflywithus.She said
that itstatedveryclearlyon theirwebsitethatthese were the necessarystepswhenyouflywitha
service dog.IadmitI was not fullyhonestwiththeminlettingthemknow thatPennywasstill in
training,Buttheydidn’taskeither.Theyneveraskedwhatshe wastrainedfororif she wasa service
dog or an emotional supportdog.Iwasterrifiedthattheywere onlygoingtoallow hertoflyincargo
and if that wasthe case we were goingto have to renta car and do a two-daydrive home from
Denver,Iwill notputone of my puppiesincargo,soI didleave thatdetail out.
At one point,anotheragentexpressedconcernthatthe flightmightnotleave ontime because of
the situationandthe agentin charge said,“Don’t worry,we can put themonthe nextflight.”Well
that isn’tfair,we hadn’tdone anythingdifferentbookingthistripthanI had inthe past with
previouspuppies.The lastthingIwantedtodo wassit inan airport longerthanI hadto witha young
puppyjusttryingto gethome.We talkedwithasupervisorandthenonthe phone withthissocalled
“medical”departmentandwe were finallyallowedtoboardthe fight.

3. Whenwe got home,I wenttothe airline’swebsite andnothingthatthe agentclaimedwaswritten
as policywasthere.Andwhatwas Pennydoingthroughoutthisstressful ordeal?Layingquietlyat
my feetbeingamodel example of howaservice dogshouldbehave.Notasingle soundoutof her,
not a single tugonher leash,barelyachange inher positionthe entire time.Ontopof that whenwe
wentto our seatstwootherpeople haddecidedtosit there because the seatswere nexttoeach
otherand theirassignedseatswere not.We hadto walkdownthe aisle pastour seatsandwaitwith
Pennyinthe aisle astheyshiftedseats.Pennywasthenforcedtowalkbackwardstoour seats
because there wasnotenoughroomin the aisle forherto turn around.She didso withouta
problemorfuss.She backedup downthe aisle,intoourseatsandlaidrightdown.I hearda few
passengersbehindustalkingaboutwhatanamazingdog she was.We had nevertrainedforthis
specificscenario,butbecause we hadbeenworkingwithherinstoreswithshoppingcartsand tight
spacesand restaurantslearninghowtosettle undertablesshe wasable toadaptinthislessthan
ideal situation.Butshe isthe dogthat wasalmostdeniedboardingaplane.
Nowmostpuppyraisersare raisingforspecificorganizations,andthose organizationshave their
ownpoliciesaboutwhetherornottheywill allow theirpuppiestravel byplane.Asanexample,
whenI wasraisingforGuide Dogs forthe Blind,Ihadto submita travel requestformbefore we
wentanywhere outof ourhome area witha puppy.We had to get thatapprovedbyour group
leadersfirstandthenapprovedbyourcommunityfieldrepresentative.People aboveme hadto
make the final decisiononwhetherornotthe puppyinquestionwasreadytotravel,andairline
travel requiredevenmore thoughtbefore approval.Theykeepveryclose tabsonthe progressof
theirpuppies.
We flewwithRicki onaveryshort flighttosouthernCaliforniawhenwe were raisingherand
because she hada little bitof anxietyonthe flightthere andback,nothingmajorjusta little panting,
shakingandunsettledbehavior,butenoughthatwe were notallowedtoflyheronour followingtrip
to Las Vegas.We drove instead.Nownoteveryorganizationisasstringentasthis,butmany
organizationswillnotallowone of theirpuppiestobe putintoa situationlikeairline travel if they
are notready to doso. Thisis anotherfactorin whyI don’tunderstandwhyitisso hard to flywitha
puppyintrainingwhenitisso easywithan ESA.There are safe guardsin place formany puppiesin
training,butthe airlinesare notaware of these either.
Everytime we have traveledwithapuppy,the airline crew wasalwayssohappytosee a well-
behaveddogontheirflight,like itisarefreshingchange.Theymustbe usedtostressedout,outof
control ESAs.I wouldbe willingtobetthatthe chancesof a puppy/dogintrainingbeingbetter
behavedorbetterpreparedtoflythanmost ESAson flightsisalmostaguarantee,butit isthe puppy
raisertravelingwithapuppyor dogin trainingthathas a higherchance of notbeingallowedtofly.
No one evertalksaboutthis.ThisissomethingthatI thinkreallyneeds tochange.I’mnotsayingthat
ESAsshouldbe bannedfromflyingeither.I’msure manypeople dobenefitfromthem, andthat
manydogs do behave appropriatelyonplanes.Buttoallow anydog withjusta note from a doctor is
not enough.There reallyshould be some sortof regulationputintoplace toprotectthese animals
and the people thatencounterthem.Proof of canine goodcitizenshipatthe bare minimum, but
more wouldbe better.Each time Itravel witha puppy,ona plane ornot, ithas alwaysmade a big
impacton that puppy.Theygrowso much onthese tripsand travel isveryvaluable intheirtraining
process.I’msure that ishelpsthemto become betterservicedogs.

4. Noteverypuppywill be readytotravel byplane while itiswitharaiser.Many puppieswe have
raisedI wouldneverhave putona plane.There isnoway that itwouldhave beeninthe puppy’s
bestinterest.Iwill alsobe the firsttoadmitthat travelingona plane withapuppycan be very
stressful forme,butmypuppy’sneedsalwayscome first.IpickflighttimesthatIthinkwill workbest
for mypuppy.I will planforlayoversif Ithinkthatflightlengthwillbe tooklongwithoutapotty
breakfor mypuppy.I will payextraformore foot roomsome my puppywill be more comfortable.It
isusuallynota relaxingflightforme because Iamalwayswatchingandreadyto repositionmy
puppyif neededorrespondtoanythingmypuppymayneedto keepthemstressfree and
comfortable forthe flight.DuringPenny’sfirstexperience flying Ispentagoodportionof the flight
movingherfeetoutof the aisle andkeepingherfromtouchingthe personnexttous.She didn’t
mindthat I keptrepositioningher,butIwasn’table to relax at all duringthe flight.Ineedformy
puppiestohave a goodexperience oritmay leave alastingbadimpressionforthe puppyand
possiblyanyone else onthatplane.
I do everythingIcan to prepare mypuppiesforflight.We practice lyingquietlyunderseatsforlong
periodsof time.We take tripson crowded loudmasstransit.Itake themto the busiestshopping
centersI can find.AnythingthatIcan do to simulate goingthroughanairportandsittingona plane.
The more I can getthemusedto these thingsthe better.
Do all people whotravel withESAsthink aboutthese thingsorjustthattheywantthe beloved
animal alongand/orthinkthe tripwill be toohard to do withoutthem?Isthere anyone coaching
ESA travelersonhowto make the tripeasierontheirpet?I don’tthinkpeople reallythinkaboutall
of thiswhentheydecide totravel withananimal.Iknow thatwhenI have beenpreppingand
makingplansto travel withmypuppiesbyplane mycoworkersoftenmake commentsof “Inever
thoughtof that” whenI talkto themabout the prepworkI do to make the trip a successful one for
all involved(thatincludesthe flightcrew,otherpassengers,the puppyandmyself andanyone inmy
travelingparty).
So whoisadvocatingfor the puppyraisersor trainerstryingtotravel while trainingwiththeirpuppy
or dog? Service dogusershave the ADA (AmericanswithDisabilitiesAct) tofall backonwhenin
public,andthe ACAA (AirCarrierAccessAct) protectsservice dogteamsandESAs inthe air. But
puppyraisersdon’thave anythinginplace,andneitherdoowner trainers.The foundationthese
raisersinstill intothesepuppiesisthe reasonwhysomanydogsmake it throughthe trainingprocess
to become fullyfunctioningservice dogs.Withoutall the hardworkpuppyraisersdoand all the
situationstheyexpose andworkthese puppiesthrough,therewouldbe alotfewerservice dogs.But
for some reason,the airlinesdon’trecognizethis.The airlinescanreallyhelpinthe trainingprocess
and the benefitsthatthese puppiescanreceivebyallowingthemthe access.
Some of the largerservice dogorganizationsdohave certainagreementswithspecificairlinesfor
theirprogrampuppies.SouthWestAirlinesallowsCanine CompanionsforIndependence puppieson
theirflightswithpermissionandproperpaperworkfromthe organizations.Butwhataboutthe
smaller,lesserknownorganizationsorownerswhotraintheirowndogs?Theymaynot have the
resourcestomake these same arrangements.Doesthatmeanthatthe raisersinthese situations
can’t have the same opportunities fortheirpuppies?Orthatthe dogstheyplace are notas entitled
or importantas the largerorganizations?How aboutthe numberof raiserswhodon’tlive close toan

5. organizationwhere the formal traininghappens?There are anumberof organizationsthatallow
theirraiserstolive anywhere inthe U.S.as longas those raiserswill be willingtotransportthe
puppiestoandfrom the organizationwhenneeded.Thinkhow muchthose organizationsand
people withdisabilitieswouldbenefitif transportingpuppiesonflightswere allowed.Itwouldbe a
win-winforeveryone.The organizationswhodependonthese arrangementswouldgetmore
raisers,potentially,andthereforebe able toproduce andplace more service dogswithpeople who
needthem,andthe puppieswouldgetvaluable traininginthe process.Ican guarantee thatthe
people whoreceivethese dogsfromeventhe smallestorganizationorwhoowner-trainthinkthat
theirdogis justas importantandshouldhave hadthe same opportunitiesasa puppyor dogfrom a
large organization.
So I ask youthe public,service dogusers,puppyraisers,orjustsomeone whousesairline
transportation:Whowouldyourathersitnextto on a plane?Orbetteryet,airline executives!
Maybe youshouldaskyour flightcrew aboutwhoandwhat theywouldratherhave to deal withat
workbefore youwrite andimplementapolicy.A personwithapuppywhois beingraisedand
trainedtobehave appropriatelyandtobe comfortable withairtravel—orsomeonewithapetdog
or, insome cases,a turkey,iguana,monkey,parrot,oranythingelse,thatistravelingwiththat
animal eitherbecause theyneeditfortheirownmental healthorfakingittoavoidthe extrafees
involvedorthe requirementtoputtheirdogor otheranimal incargo for transport.A petthat may
or may not have beenconditionedormentallyable tohandle the stressof beingonanairplane.
Maybe itis time tospeakup notonlyabout the dogswhoshouldnotbe on planes,butthe oneswho
reallyshould.
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dog, veterandog, medical alert dog, puppy,puppies.