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1. Do Airlines Have Double Standards for
Canines, a must to understand? – Part 1
Recentlysome airlineshave changedtheirpaperworkprocedure foremotional supportanimals.A little
overa month ago anotherpassengerwasbittenbyadog scheduledtotravel ona plane.Thistime the
victimwasa child.At leastthistime one of the journalistsgotitrightand the dogwas labeledasan
emotional supportanimal,notasa service dog.
But are these changesgoingtobe enoughtokeepthe passengersandthe animalssafe whentraveling?
The changesinclude notifyingthe airlines48hoursin advance that the emotional supportanimalwillbe
on a flightandsigningpaperworksayingthatthe animal isnotlikelytobite anyone.
Oftentimesthe mainstreammediaisconfusedaboutwhatthe difference isbetweenaservice dogand
an emotional supportanimal,andthereforeconfusesthe general publicevenfurther.The differenceis
reallyprettymajorinmy eyes.
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guide dog, puppy intraining, assistance dog, ptsd dog.
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An emotional supportanimal doesnothingotherthanprovide comfort.Theyare there forone togive a
hug or petwhenneeded.Theymayprovideahug,nudge,ora headbutt.Theymaylickback.Theymay
make one feel betteremotionally.Butnothingtheydoactuallyrequiresanytype of training,just love.
I’msorry to burst everyone’sbubble,butprovidinglove isnota trainedtask.

2. A service animal isspecificallytrainedtodoone or more tasks that directlyaidssomeonewhohasa
disability.Isee newsstoriesall the time aboutsomethinghappeningtosomeone’s“service animal.”A
fewweeksagoIshareda newsstoryonmy personal FacebookPage abouta woman’s“service dog”
gettingit’sfootcaughtin an escalatorat LAXairport.The videofootage showsthe dogfacingthe wrong
wayon the escalatorand the handlernotpayingany attentiontothe dog.
I guessitcouldbe a service dog—howisone supposedtoknow if itisactuallytrainedtodo a task to aid
itshandleror if the handlerisevendisabled?Butinmyobservation,the behaviorshownby the handler
and the dog inthe videowasnot that of a well-trainedservice dogteam.A service dogshouldbe
completelyaware of itssurroundings,know how tohandle it,andbe focusedonwhattheirhandler
needs.A handlershouldbe settingtheirdogup forsuccess(especiallyif itisstill learning) andbe aware
of whattheirdogis doingandkeepingthemsafe tothe bestof theirabilities.Thisteamwasnotthe best
example of whataservice dogteamshouldlooklike.
The thingis that people andaswell asthe mediaoftencall a doga service dogbecause itwill getmore
coverage andnotice than a normal petwould.If the newshadthe headline of “LAXofficersavespetdog
caught inescalator”it isn’tasflashyas “LAX officersavesservice dogcaughtinescalator.”Now I have no
wayof knowingif thisdogwascalleda service dogbythe ownerorthe newsstation,orboth.But you
have to admitsharinga story advertisingthataservice dogwas“heroicallysaved”soundsmuchbetter
than “poordog gets suckedintoan escalatorbecause ownerwasnegligent.”Oritreallycouldbe a
poorlytrainedservice dogteam—yes,thosedoexistandthatisa whole separate topicforanother
future blog.
Same thinggoesfor missingdogpostersandnews.If people say thattheirdogwentmissingitgetslittle
notice.Butif people saythattheirservice dogismissing,theygetwaymore notice andsympathy.
“OMG! We have to findthisperson’sservice dog,theirlife isdependentonit!”Butthisblogisn’treally
aboutthe misrepresentationof service dogsinthe news.Thistoowill have tobe a whole differentblog.
It’smore aboutthe issuesof animalsinthe cabinon flightsandhow easyitis forsome to getaccess and
howdifficultitisforothers,like puppyraisers.
More and more people are travelingwithemotional supportanimals,andnotall are evendogs.People
are tryingto passall kindsof animalsoff as emotional supportanimals.Justrecentlysomeone triedto
board a UnitedAirlinesflightwithanemotional supportpeacock.Seriously,how doesapeacockprovide
comfort?In mostof myencounterswithpeacocks,Ihave seenthemactalmostsemi aggressive towards
people— whichisnotexactlyagreat pickfor someone whomightbe stressedandrequiresomethingto
snuggle with.
Some of the airlinesare doingabetterjobof denyingthese animals,butsome are not.There wasa
storyrecentlyabouta girl tryingto board a flightwithheremotional supporthamsteranduponbeing
denied,she flusheditdownatoiletbecause she saidthatitis whatthe airline toldhertodo so she
couldgetto her destination.I’mstill verybaffledbythisone.If ananimal meansthat muchto you that
youneeditto be able tohandle flying,whyonearthwouldyouflushit?Then there are storiesof snakes

3. and ducks,and all kindsof otheranimalsbeingallowedtofly.Butinthisdayand age youhave to
wonderwhatstoriesare actuallytrue and whichonesare not.
Despite the influxof animalsatairportslately,the mostcommon supportanimal are still dogs.Almost
anyone can boarda plane these dayswiththeirdogaslongas theyhave a note from a mental health
professionalstatingthatitisnecessaryforthat persontohave that animal withthemwhentheyfly.It
has gottensobad that people canpurchase thistype of letteroverthe internetwithoutactuallybeing
seenbysaidprofessional.
Don’tevengetme startedon the multiple fake service dog/ESA registrysitesoutthere.Onmostof
these sitesyouhave achoice to registeryourdogas an ESA (emotional supportanimal) oraservice dog
for a “veryreasonable”price.Noproof isrequiredthatyourdogis actuallytrainedasa service dogor
that youreallydorequire anESA. These sitesare scamscateringto people whowanttoabuse the
system.These sitesare one of the biggestproblemswithpetsbeingfakedasservice dogsinpublicand
causingharm for legitimate service dogteams.These companiesdon’tcare andbelieve theyare not
morallyresponsibletotake precautionsaboutmakingsure the publicissafe fromdogsthatcould
potentiallybydangerousornotconditionedtohandle the stressof working.Nordotheyhave toolsor
have any accessto examine the mental healthof the animal involved.These companiesdon’tknowif
the service doginquestionisable tohandle the stressof accompeningtheirhandlerinstressful
environmentsnordotheycare to ask.Theyonlycare aboutmakinga dollarandinmy opinionneedto
be shut down.
If that informationdoesn’tscare youenough,how aboutthe fact that there isnota single requirement
inplace to showthat any emotional supportanimal beingallowedonplanesisrequiredtohave hadany
type of temperamenttestingortrainingtoshow that theycan handle the stressof airline travel.Sure
some of the airlineshave paperworkthatanownerneedstosignsayingthattheydon’tbelieve that
theirdogwouldbite someone.Buthowmanypetownersare reallyable toreadthe bodylanguage of
theiranimalscorrectlyandknowif theymaynot be comfortable withthe situationthattheirownerputs
themin.
Let’sface it, travelingisverystressfulandIcan see how havingyourfurry or, insome cases,feathered
bestfriendalongforthe tripcan make a personfeel better.Butwhat aboutthe animal?How do you
thinkanimalshandle the stressof traveling,especiallyif theyare notusedto beinginbusycrowded
airportsthat have scary thinglike suitcasesonwheelsbeingdraggedaround,orfastmovinggolf carts
whizzingaround,voicesoverloudspeakers,kidscrying,peopledartingthroughcrowdstomake their
flight,orevengoingthroughsecurity?Nottomentionsittinginverytightquarterswithstrangersfora
longperiodof time,withnooptiontoleave the situation.
ESA dogs are not service dogsanddon’thave the same legal publicaccess.SomanyESAs are not
accustomedto thistype of stressful environment.Itisnowonderwhywe keephearingnewsreports
aboutincidentsonplanesinvolvingdogs.People are puttingdogsinsituationsthatare way pastthe
dog’scomfortzone in orderto stayin theirowncomfortzone.That doesn’tseemright,doesit?To

4. stressout a dog to lowerone’sownpersonal stresslevel.Now noteveryESA animal getsstressedbyair
travel,some are reallygoodat it.But there isno wayto discourage those thatcan’t handle the stress.
Do I dare talkaboutthe animal’srelievingneeds?How doyoutraina bird notto potty while onaplane
or in the airport?Most supportanimalstravel atthe feetof theirownerorintheirlap,since theyare
not alwaysrequiredtobe ina carrier.How well doesthisreallyworkforanimalsotherthandogs?What
if someone wastravelingwitharabbitorpotbelliedpigastheirESA?Do youknow how oftenarabbit
poops?!Yetthese typesof animalshave beenallowedonplanes.
Nowairline travel isnotforeverypersonoranimal.Itis nowonderthat there are storiesaboutanimals
misbehavingonplanesorinthe airport.It is stressful forthemandtheyoftendon’tknow how tocope.
Thisis notthe faultof the animal,butrather the personthatputs theminthe situationthatcaused
themto be so uncomfortable thattheydidn’tknow whatelse todo.Asan ownerof an animal itis my
jobto protectthat animal fromharm. Harm can be so manythings,keepingthemona leashsothey
don’trun intothe streetand gethitby a car, safe frompoisons,safe fromeatingorchewingonunsafe
objects(dogproofingyourhouse),keepingthemawayfromaggressivedogsorabusive people. But
mostpeople are notaware thatbringinga dog intoa stressful environmentthattheydon’tknow howto
handle isharmful tothat dog andtherefore don’tprotectthem.Whathappenstoa dog that bitesa
person?Theysometimesgetputintoquarantine,orare not allowedoutintopublic(thisincludesparks,
trails,or otherdogfriendlyplaces),theirlivesare foreverchanged…more stresson the dog.But you
still justneedthatlittle slipof paperandtomake a few extraarrangementswiththe airline togetyour
“ESA” on the flightwithyou.
I have to say that as a puppyraiser,Ifindthisveryfrustratingformanyreasons.It’supsettingtohear
aboutincidentsof animalsbeingstressedouttothe pointof thembitingsomeone.Butanotheraspectis
that the average persondoesn’tnecessarilyunderstandthe difference betweenanESA anda service
dog.Theymightthinkthat thisistypicallybehaviorforaservice dogandcause a bad perceptionof
service dogsandlessacceptance forthemout inpublic.Thismakesitharderfor service dogteamsto be
acceptedandpuppyraiserslike me whoare tryingto raise and traina puppyoutin public,avery
necessarypartof the processof creatinga successful service dog.
Accordingto theirwebsites,some majorairlinesprohibitservicedogsintrainingfromflyinginthe cabin
withtheirhandler.DeltaAirlineshasontheirwebsite “Inmostcircumstances,aservice orsupport
animal intrainingdoesnotmeetqualificationsforatrainedanimal andcan not ride inthe cabin.”
UnitedAirlineshasthisstatement:“Unitedonlyrecognizesservice animalswhichhave beentrainedand
certified.Animal trainersare permittedtobringone service animal thatistrainingtoassistdisabled
passengersonboardfree of charge.”Buttheyalsostate that “trainerstransportingservice animalsinthe
ordinarycourse of businessorservice animalswhoare notintrainingmustcheck these animals.”Well,
that isa veryconfusingstatement.Sodogsintrainingare not recognizedbythe airline asservice
animals,buta trainerisallowedtobringone ona flight?Manyairlinessaythattheywill allow service
dogsin traininginthe cabinonlyif theyare flyingtotheirnew home forfinal placement.Itisveryhard
to getan accurate answerfromthe airlinesonwhetherornota service dogintrainingisallowedtofly

5. inthe cabin.The informationonwebsitesiseitherconfusingornotthere.If youcall the airline directly
the agentson the phone are oftenconfusedbythe questionanddon’tknow how toanswer.
So if I have thiscorrect… airlinesare more likelytoleta dogor other animalsontheirairplane thathave
no evidence of trainingorhavingthe temperamenttohandle the stressof flying,thanapuppyor dog
that isspecificallytrainingtohandle situationslike airline travel andmore!Doesanyone else see a
problemwiththis?
Yes,I have flownwithanumberof puppieswithoutanissue,butIhave alsobeenturneddownbymany
airlineswhentryingtoinquireabouttravelingwithapuppy.Itisusuallybecause the puppyisn’ttrained
to assistme personally.Buteachtime Ihave flownIfacedthe chance of beingturnedaway.The
communicationwiththe airline employeesonthe policyof service dogsintrainingisall overthe place.
You can get a verydifferentanswertoquestiondependingonwhoyouask.
For more detailson our products and services,please feel free tovisitus at: service dogpuppy raiser,
guide dog, puppy intraining, assistance dog, ptsd dog.