Pet Owners On Airlines Making It Harder To Travel With Emotional Support Animals | NBC News NOW

1. Alright so those of y’all that don’t have any sort of disabilities, be thankful that boarding your pet at a facility is an option. For many of us, it is NOT. This ruling airlines made hurts real ESA owners as well as mini horse service animal handlers. Scam websites, fake IDs and certificates, and unruly pets are the problem…not ESAs. I get that some may think that certain species are over the top (and yes I can see your point), but real ESA owners will have their animal contained properly especially if it is an exotic species. The ones you saw in the video…real ESA owners don’t do that. I’ve scrolled through these comments and I’m going to post a few responses:

   “Why don’t they just stay home if they need an ESA?!”
   That’s great…next time someone wants to go somewhere with their wheel chair or oxygen tank, go ahead and say that to them as well. Let me know how that goes.

   “Use other forms of transportation”
   This is discrimination. Again, would you ask someone to use another form of transportation due to their oxygen tank taking up an extra seat?

   “Too many people have allergies!”
   Let’s be real…if you are that allergic, the amount of hair I have on my clothing from my dog will send you sailing.

   “Those ESAs need training!”
   I agree to an extent. Yes, they should be well behaved. But how can you have training for a hamster?

   “ESAs are just pets”
   Yeah not really. They are pets with a purpose. There is plenty of research that shows animals help your body’s systems calm down. There is a soothing effect. They lower heart rates, blood pressure, and quite frankly who doesn’t smile when they come home to their animals? They help…

   So, before you judge, before you celebrate, before you ridicule, take a moment to understand who this is hurting. It is hurting those that followed the rules. It is hurting the ones that need it. I advocate for invisible disabilities, service animals, and ESAs. I’d love to answer any questions anyone may have.

2. If people want to bring their ESAs in public transportation they should be required to have them trained as an actual service animal with the proper paperwork

3. Have separate flights for people with animals, make them pay extra. Problem solved

4. 🍀 Good !! No one should have to be bothered with this foolishness!! If your nerves are this bad, than perhaps you shouldn't be flying in the first place??!

5. I feel sorry for these people but also wonder why more and more people with PTSD, anxiety, and stuff 🤷

6. People with various disabilities and serious health problems (physical or mental) have official service dogs (or sometimes other service animals) assisting and supporting them. They are essential for their owner's ability to live, go to work, run errands unassisted by other people. In most countries, there is a legislation that allows these animals to travel with their owner in public transportation, even if pets were not allowed. Service animals are really not much different from the working dogs of law enforcement, military, health or other authorities.

   However, The ridiculous concept of "emotional support animal" only exists in the US. Granting special treatment in public transportation to someone's pet just because the owner does not want to be separated from the animal is ridiculous.

7. Get better emotions you weaklings

8. This isn’t going to stop the issue with people faking dogs as a service animal.

   There are other options rather than outright ban them.. Just specify the species allowed (like dogs) and require some form of training. Not everyone needs a specifically task trained dog, but ESAs should still behave similar to one otherwise.

   And FYI, I do have a valid ESA prescribed to me by my mental health care provider (I literally got him partially for that reason) who is well trained/mannered because I’ve put a lot of effort into that (having an untrained ESA just increases mental health symptoms tbh). I do not need a psychiatric service dog at this time..

9. "SomeTHING? Medical EQUIPMENT?" These are living beings. They have needs, emotions and sensitivity probably greater than human beings. "Discrimination"? These people need to get education and stop thinking of these beings as THINGS!

10. Honestly this is an easy fix that will never happen. We need a new federal system of regulation for service animals and ESAs, everything is very wild west right now. Create a government department for certification of service animals and ESAs that has regulations (they need to be well-trained, and limit the specific animals) and counterfeit-proof certifications that people can present to airlines.

    It's frustrating because people faking ESAs and service animals is hurting the people who actually need them.

11. Abusers are making it difficult for the people who NEED service animals. Some of these incidents were ridiculous 🙄

12. OH STOP IT!
    WTF?! Stay home!!!!!

13. The rule was put in place because people brought "Emotional Support Animals" who needed emotional support. Many of these animals attacked flight attendants and other passengers. Some carried on wild animals that created a hostile environment.

14. Oh thank goodness for that. Who needs an emotional support peacock on the plane with them. Too many selfish people were using it to get their own way, utilising fake certification.
    Physical comfort v’s emotional comfort? No, its not about the physical comfort of the rest of the passengers. When that untrained ESA starts mucking up on the plane it becomes the emotional comfort of the owner of the animal v’s the physical and emotional discomfort of the rest of the plane.

15. The Airline Carrier Access Act (ACAA) definition of a service animal now aligns with the ADA. For the purposes of public access, ESA do not have protection in public spaces that prohibit pets.
    An ESA is any pet that provides emotional comfort. They have no training. If it is a dog, it may or may not have obedience training. They don't have the temperament to remain calm in chaotic and stressful environments.
    Taking an untrained pet into a stressful environment like public transportation sets everyone up for failure.
    As a person who uses a trained service animal, many emotional support animals pose a direct threat to me and my service animal. We have been threatened by ESAs in grocery stores, restaurants, and yes, in an airport. Fortunately my service animal is trained to deal with the stress, and I know how to protect us.
    Everyone's health and safety need to be considered. If someone's disability is protected under the ADA, there is specific guidance regarding reasonable accommodations. If the accommodation (such as an ESA) poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others, it can be denied.
    Trained service animals cost upwards of $25,000. One attack by an untrained ESA can force that service animal to be retired immediately. That's a lot of time and money to toss down the drain. It also means the person now needs to obtain another service animal. Wait lists are often years long for reputable service animal training organizations.

16. Instead of blaming airlines for cramming people into smaller and smaller spaces, you people blast people traveling with their best friends. You people are rude and spoiled.

17. I promise a lot of people claim they are emotional support animals but they really aren’t.

18. Open a secondary bus system, w/a rate to support extra needs for accommodating atypical pets, who are necessary, but not trained service animals. I drop shopping at grocery markets who allow unleashed and untrained pets. The first time I saw an unrestrained dog lift it's leg in various store locations, my sympathies took on a different tone. Maybe service training is not so important as being housebroken.

19. Ugh pets are NOT equipment. Sheesh just take the extra step and get them serviced trained. I have encountered a lot of ESAs and they all seem pretty good AND TRAINABLE.

20. Bus, train, or car for you people!

21. Awesome!!!!

22. Tho I emphasize with some, I personally know MORE ppl who abused the rule etc. this should’ve been challenged years ago, before it being an all or nothing. I would not want to be sitting next to an animal that isn’t certified as handicap helping etc, it’s gone too far and several just wanted to travel with their pet but not pay for the pet etc.

23. They never should have allowed emotional support animals in the first place. These people totally abused the concept, just look at our grocery stores, they resemble petting zoos!!!

24. Oh well take the train

25. I'm super anxious. Ill just get a yappy shitsu that'll help

26. Humans are the problem period

27. Lonely people that can't find relationships welcome pets in their home AKA females over 30 that's their new husband or mate

28. Don’t they have drugs for that ?

29. How did we ever survive the 80’s🤦🏽‍♀️

30. Good. Nobody needs a peacock for support, and I certainly get tired of dealing with unruly pets on flights.
    I'm sorry, but of you need a snake as an ESA to travel, Go Greyhound or Amtrak.

31. Soon there will be a fight on an airplane between someone who wants an emotional support monkey and another who is allergic to monkeys. The fight will escalate when a PETA member jumps in to free the monkey because they were not meant to fly.

32. This is so simple; make support animals be trained as service ones; those who can't be trained & only be support must not be allowed; after all some people get anxiety & panic attacks around dogs or cats, allergies & asthma.

33. you don't get to decide what's important for our emotional health.

34. If you're too fragile to fly without your emotional support animal don't fly. Take a Xanax and grow the heck up.

35. Give me a break! If the PSA is valid, they should be able to prove it with REAL documents

36. An emotional support animal is extremely important and just as valuable as an animal that can guide a blind person or detect a seizure. For example, they can detect when a really bad depressive episode is about to start and can distract the person so that they don't end up harming themselves, they can also help when a panic attack is about to hit. I have one for my mental illness though I've always paid fare for it wherever I go.

    I can't really say its unfair to have to pay for your emotional support animal though I believe it should be less and that the type of animals should be limited for example a cat/dog but not something like a bird or some wild/ exotic animal.

37. I brought along my emotional support stripper and the airline made me buy her a ticket. Then they refused to take off until she put her shirt back on. These airlines ain't what they used to be . . . and she is an animal, trust me.

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