Menagerie in the Air

Dogs with proper training have always been recognized and accepted as appropriate service animals.

Service animals have long accompanied disabled passengers on commercial aircraft. They have been trained to perform certain tasks that assist the disabled. Dogs are the most common service animals and were typically seen onboard airplanes assisting blind passengers or those with severely limited mobility. The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 prohibited commercial airlines operating within, to or from the United States from discriminating against passengers with disabilities. This means they must allow them to bring along their service animals. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 went even further and did not require such service animals to wear a vest, ID tag or a specific harness.

"Emotional Support Animal Letters" were quickly available on the internet - for a fee.

In recent years, travelers have been taking advantage of these laws and several sites have actually sprung up on the Internet to assist these flyers. Some of these sites claim they will provide “Emotional Support Animal Letters” within 72 hours of application. One such site claims ”Many different factors can lead to symptoms such as depression, anxiety, sleepless nights or PTSD.” The site goes on to say, “…the purpose (of the letter) is to make the special bond between people and their pets even stronger.” Unfortunately, some passengers pushed the boundaries to the limit. Emotional support animals recently turned into somewhat of a crisis for the airlines. Passengers repeatedly tried to bypass pet cargo fees and bring animals with them which simply have no place on board an aircraft other than as declared cargo. Sometimes, they did so openly and sometimes they did so clandestinely. Here are a few good stories that illustrate my point.

A scene from the 2006 movie "Snakes on a Plane."

One of the most unbelievable cases occurred in Miami, FL on August of 2011 at #flymia. Seven small snakes (stuffed in nylon stockings) were discovered inside a traveler’s pants (ugh). Besides these snakes, he also had 3 turtles. The snakes and turtles were discovered using the #TSA Advanced Imaging Technology. This allows TSA Officers to locate potentially threatening items that’ve been concealed. #USFWS officers arrived on the scene and took custody of the reptiles. The passenger was arrested and charged with violating the Lacey Act, a conservation law in the US dating back to 1900 which prohibits trade in wildlife, fish or plants that have been illegally transported. I don’t know what kind of snakes he was trying to transport but it makes no difference to me. “Snakes in My Pants” would be far worse than “Snakes on a Plane.” In a follow-up, the #AP reports a passenger once brought a pet snake on a plane and accidentally left it onboard. The snake had apparently gotten out of its enclosure and was found hidden under a duffel bag during the next flight. Can you imagine how you would have felt if it was your duffel bag and you “discovered” that stowaway?

Could this be Mr. Stinkerbutt and his close friend?

In November of 2014 a pig was removed from a US Airways flight after the animal became “disruptive.” #ABC learned from one of the passengers that the pig had been attached to an armrest and was excitedly walking back and forth. Eventually, both the pig and its owner were asked to disembark the aircraft. In another incident, a Ms. Carla Fitzgerald was traveling between Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina with her feathery friend - a duck named Daniel Turducken Stinkerbutt. Apparently, she was suffering from PTSD after being hit by a taxi cab and later received certification to take Mr. Stinkerbutt with her on board flights as her emotional support pet. (Believe me, I couldn’t make this stuff up.)

It's hard to imagine a marmoset hiding in someone's shirt.

There are so many other stories to share but I’ll narrow them down to just a few more. Several years ago, passenger Jason Ellis found himself in trouble while flying with Gizmo, his emotional support marmoset. He departed from Ohio and was en route to Las Vegas but was unable to produce the proper paperwork during the flight for the undeclared monkey a flight attendant spotted peeking out of his shirt! Police officers met the plane when it landed in Las Vegas and worked out the “misunderstanding.” (He claimed the paperwork was in his suitcase.) But when Mr. Ellis tried to fly back to Columbus, he was denied boarding as he had been placed on the no fly list of #FlyFrontier. He eventually traveled home on #SouthwestAir without incident.

No matter how you look at it, Daisy is still a rodent!

A Ms. Cindy Torok was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight last October after the airline would not let her fly with her emotional support squirrel named Daisy. She claimed she had informed the carrier that she’d be traveling with her emotional support animal but neglected to let them know it was a squirrel, an animal not in compliance with Frontier’s policy. She refused to deplane, the police were called and threatened to arrest her and take her squirrel. “You will not take my baby,” she declared. Then the officers forced all the passengers to deplane. Ms. Torok was not permitted to re-board and the flight was 2 hours late as a result of the incident.

Her peacock was anxious to "fly the friendly skies."

Finally, a woman attempted to bring a peacock aboard a recent #United flight from #EWRairport in Newark, NJ. She said her peacock was an emotional support animal and should be allowed to fly for free. United Airlines said “no.” Apparently, she then offered to pay for the bird’s seat but the airline’s answer was the same - “No.” Can you imagine sitting next to a peacock on a plane? While the plumage on the male of the species is colorful, it’s a bird after all and I sure would not want a peacock pecking me, or trying to eat whatever I may have brought onboard or, worse yet, relieving itself wherever it darned well pleased. I say, "Well done United!"

The DOT says that miniature horses are a commonly recognized service animal.

Things had gotten so out of control that the US Department of Transportation finally had to issue clarifying guidelines last month on how to handle service animals and the growing controversy surrounding emotional support animals. First, airlines cannot ban a specific breed or species of support animal, though they have been given latitude to deny specific animals if they believe the animal could pose a threat. “Priority will be placed on ensuring that the most commonly recognized service animals (dogs, cats and miniature horses) are accepted for transport.” Second, airlines can require animal owners to provide documentation related to the animals’s vaccination, training or behavior to determine whether the animal poses a threat to the health or safety of others. In addition, on flights over 8 hours duration, they can also demand documentation related to the animal’s bathroom habits. I’m not sure how such documentation would be verified and hope I never need to know.

Until next time…safe travels.