Delta Airlines - no more comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders

[underpants]

Your Emotional Support Duck Is Not Welcome in Seat 15C

The day of the service duck and emotional support chicken on airlines may be drawing to a close.

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Friday it will more thoroughly vet passengers’ efforts to fly with all manner of unusual animals, which often board U.S. airlines under the guise of psychological or medical support.

“Customers have attempted to fly with comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders and more,” the airline said Friday in a news release. “Ignoring the true intent of existing rules governing the transport of service and support animals can be a disservice to customers who have real and documented needs.”

As of March 1, Delta customers traveling with a service or support animal must show proof of the animal’s health or vaccinations 48 hours before a flight. Besides the current letter signed by a doctor or licensed mental health worker—which can be easily obtained on the internet—those with psychiatric service or emotional support animals must sign a form to attest that the animal can behave.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-19/delta-gets-tougher-on-flying-emotional-support-service-animals?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

[inwiththenew]

1. I guess my comfort western diamondback rattlesnake and I will no longer be flying with Delta

I'll take my money elsewhere!

[COLGATE4]

5. Good for you!!! I find the western diamondback

to be one of the more 'comforting' reptiles and I certainly wouldn't want to fly without mine!

[brooklynite]

7. In all fairness, a boa constrictor isn't poisonous...

...and doubles as a scarf during these cold winter days...

[Major Nikon]

36. Neither is a rattlesnake

I know what you’re thinking, and yes they do taste like chicken.

[PoliticAverse]

12. Sorry, no snakes...

[Ilsa]

50. It's just not the same as the original,

which made me and hubby howl.

[lagomorph777]

23. My octopus will be very diappointed.

[SoCalMusicLover]

31. I Have Had It With These Mother Fucking Snakes On This Mother Fucking Plane

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Good.

People who claim to need a "support" turkey or snake or whatever are essentially full of shit.

And I know, this statement makes me seem a heartless sociopath, but even someone who needs a support animal of some kind needs to be guided by some common sense and consideration of others.

Plus, genuine support or service animals are both well trained and well behaved.

[Horse with no Name]

3. We refused a patient request to bring a Therapy Squirrel

[Yonnie3]

4. This is all good, but ...

"... attest that the animal can behave."

Could we have one that says " ... attest that the passenger can behave."?

[NightWatcher]

6. That duck has helped a lot of people.

[underpants]

9. .

[NightWatcher]

19. Have you seen LA to Vegas?

There's a therapy duck

[underpants]

21. No. I've seen the ads and it looks hilarious

Just haven't caught it yet.

[genxlib]

8. This has become a huge problem across many industries

Mrs Genxlib works in a public library and it is one their biggest frustrations.

I don't know if our area is worse than others but many people have started treating their pets like friends and take them everywhere; including into stores, restaurants, malls and public buildings. I think the same people used to be the ones that would leave pets in their cars when they were out and about. Now they just claim service animal just to get away with flaunting the rules.

It has also gotten common to take dogs out in stroller like push carts. Ugh. I thought I had seen it all until I saw a woman in a Costco last month wearing one in a baby bjorn like chest pack. The dog looked ridiculous hanging there with its legs flopping around.

People are assholes

[TeapotInATempest]

16. What is it with some people and their dogs??

If you want to treat something like a child, maybe volunteer to work with actual children or something, jeez.

Look, I love animals of all kinds but some people are highly allergic and should be able to at least go to the library without worrying about having an asthma attack.

And I really don't want dogs in grocery stores or restaurants. If I want pet hair in my food, I'll stay home with my cats.

/rant

[genxlib]

22. Preach

That is exactly the rant I get from my wife at the end of many days.

[crazycatlady]

28. When I worked at a dept store

SOmeone brought their dog in and he took a dump in our domestics department.

CLeaning up animal shit is not what (underpaid) retail workers signed up for. This was not a store like PetSmart.

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. They didn't clean up after their own dog had crapped in the store?

Did the store ban them?

[crazycatlady]

41. As far as I know only shoplifting gets you banned from that store

[IluvPitties]

49. My dogs are my kids, but...

They stay home, where they need to be.

[Cal Carpenter]

47. The thing is that while some of these people may be taking advantage

of the idea of 'therapy pets', there is a real need for others for their service animals and it may not be apparent to you. Some service animals are able to alert their human about oncoming seizures or other medical problems, for example. I happen to know a woman who has a dog for that very purpose, and she often keeps the dog in a stroller (that is, on the days when she is able to walk - she is often in a motorized wheelchair and the dog has a space near her feet). But when the woman is mobile and the dog is in the stroller, your reaction is unfair.

I guess I'm just trying to say it is dangerous to assume things about most people. It's like complaining about someone with a handicapped parking tag who doesn't 'look' handicapped. Unless you are that person's doctor, you have no idea what their disabilities or needs may be.

As for people being assholes, well, I'm not gonna go there.

[genxlib]

48. I do not disagree with you at all

Any given person might really need a service animal. And it may not be apparent who does.

But many don't and are just abusing the system. That is what makes it so frustrating. You have to put up with all the faker bullshit in order to make room for those really in need. Those people are assholes for putting people like my wife in that position. And it isn't her trying to be cruel or a pain in the ass. She is just trying to enforce the rules.

True service animals are well trained and can behave themselves in public. They are different from poorly behaved pets that people just want to have with them.

[TeapotInATempest]

10. Spiders?!

Please, please don't fly with a spider if I'm on your flight. We may have to land due to a medical emergency (mine).

[PoliticAverse]

11. So I can fly with a therapy elephant as long as it is vaccinated and has a letter from a "doctor"?

Sounds reasonable.

(Oh and it can behave - when it wants to, anyway).

[IluvPitties]

13. Excellent! Stop abusing the system!

[Initech]

14. Damn. My therapy parrot and I have been meaning to take a trip to South America.

[petronius]

15. Delta won't even give me a free second seat for my emotional support wife...

Cold-hearted un-caring assholes!

[csziggy]

42. Has she had all her vaccinations and can you be sure she will behave?

Because I can't make those claims for my husband - he hates shots and won't get them unless I make the doctor do it. And he is essentially out of my control all the time!

[Buns_of_Fire]

17. Fine. Be that way. My seeing-eye honey badger and I will just take our business elsewhere. nt

[Roland99]

18. Yes!! Now for supermarkets and grocery stores to follow suit!

[GulfCoast66]

20. Keep waiting for someone to bring up the Comfort Buzzard

[jmowreader]

24. That's different from the Door Buzzard, right?

[GulfCoast66]

25. Correct. It doesnt get rung.

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. Well, it wouldn't be comfortable if it was wrung (nt)

[sinkingfeeling]

26. Good.

[Tipperary]

27. Good.

[msongs]

29. comfort pets are a scam. leave em at home pls. nt

[moriah]

32. Depends. My shrink feels it's in my best interest to care for a pet... but yes, at home.

He knows we have a bond, and sometimes he's what gives me the energy to get out of bed. When the only apartment I could afford had a no-pet policy, my shrink did the paperwork to officially "prescribe" him, though of course I still had to pay a deposit.

But yes, he stays at home. I'd be soothing him more than him supporting me if I took him out of his confort zone.

[Blue_Tires]

57. Not always...

But way too many people have been shamelessly exploiting the loophole

[moriah]

30. My cat is a registered emotional support animal, but supports me at HOME.

He would totally flip if I tried to carry him out in public with me, let alone into a public establishment.

Which certainly wouldn't help support me!

[Nevernose]

33. When did ppl start bringing dogs everywhere?

Many of the people I see are clearly abusing the law. They paid their $25 online for a “service animal” scarf and MAYBE some bullshit paperwork from a quack.

Not only do I love dogs (“dog people” know what I’m talking about), not only have I owned them my entire life, assist with several rescue groups, and currently own 3-5 (depending on how you count), I’ve actually been told that I could use an emotional support dog. I could bring it everywhere. It would make my life way cooler.

But I don’t. Because I’m not an asshole. Because it’s not worth affecting, in some way, every single person I come across in a day. People are allergic, people are phobic, people have bad histories with dogs, people might just hate them, people might oppose them on religious grounds (e.g., some Muslims), some people might just not want an animal that eats its own poop and smells kind of funny and transmits parasitic worms fairly frequently to be walking through the produce section of the supermarket.

People these days, though, seem to have even stopped the pretense of fake therapy certifications. They just take their dog for a walk wherever they please.

[hatrack]

34. My brother got on a plane in Anchorage (IIRC) . . . .

There was a passenger on board with her therapy horse.

(Granted, more of a therapy Shetland Pony/miniature horse, but a horse nonetheless).

[underpants]

37. There ARE guide horses for the blind

http://www.guidehorse.com/

Our mission is to provide a safe, cost-effective and reliable mobility alternative for visually impaired people. The Guide Horse Foundation is committed to delivering Guide Horses at no cost to the blind, relying on un-paid volunteers and charitable donations to pay all travel and housing expenses for the blind handler's on-site training.

We are always seeking legally-blind volunteers to participate in our experiment and you can find a Guide Horse Candidate Application here.



The Guide Horse Program:

The Guide Horse Foundation was founded in 1999 as an experimental program to access the abilities of miniature horses as assistance animals. There is a critical shortage of guide animals for the blind and guide horses are an appropriate assistance animal for thousands of visually impaired people in the USA.

[hatrack]

53. Interesting! Didn't know this was a thing.

Not applicable in this case - the passenger he saw could see.

[underpants]

54. Yeah I wasn't aware of it until a few years ago

I found it fascinating

[lunasun]

35. Only comfort turkey needed on a plane imo

[nolabels]

55. I'll drink to that!

[jmowreader]

38. All kidding aside...

Fake service animals are eventually going to ruin it for people who really need service animals.

"How dare you say I don't need my emotional support tasmanian devil?"

[DrDan]

43. Bravo

[dalton99a]

44. About damn time

[genxlib]

45. Turkey can be very comforting

Especially with mashed potatoes and gravy

[underpants]

46. Ba Dum Pssh

[Ilsa]

51. And stuffing. Don't forget the stuffing! nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. I don't think they'd notice if I brought my emotional support tarantula

who just rides quietly in my hair.

But seriously, there can be situations where animals (usually dogs) are legitimately helpful to people who need them because of anxiety or PTSD or some such condition. On the other hand, there are some animals that just don't belong on airplanes. For example, there was the emotional support pig who shat all over the plane:

The passenger was allowed to bring the pig on board as an "emotional support animal" under Department of Transportation guidelines, a US Airways spokeswoman said.

Apparently, it was not meant to be. Before the plane took off, the passenger and her pig were kicked for being "disruptive," spokeswoman Laura Masvidal said.

How disruptive? Fellow passengers told the Hartford Courant that the big brown pig stank up the cabin of the tiny D.C.-bound aircraft and defecated in the aisle.

Phelps watched in amusement and horror as the pig began "dropping things" in the aisle while his owner stowed her belongings. When she tied him to the armrest and tried to clean up after him, he began to howl.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/30/travel/emotional-support-pig-booted-flight/index.html

[nolabels]

58. Staying home on vacations is starting to make a lot more sense

[Blue_Tires]

56. Delta is wising up...

Now they need to do another wise thing and bring back the B747

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

59. The 747 won't be back. It's a fuel hog.

It was a great airplane in its day, but newer airplanes with two fuel-efficient engines like the A330, A350 and B787 are so much cheaper to operate, and have a lot of features that the '80s-vintage 747 lacks. I hated to see it go, though. http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/delta-boeing-747-retirement-flight/index.html