“S he wouldn’t put her growling dog in its carrier, got belligerent with the flight attendant, and assaulted a cop (so we were told). I’m guessing she won’t be flying anytime soon.”
This was what MrAdownie — a member of YouTube — wrote as a caption for this video of a pugnacious woman who was escorted off the airplane by police because of her unruly dog:
When police boarded the aircraft operated by United Airlines to take her off the airplane, she initially refused; and when she was told that she was “holding up this whole plane”, she retorted, “You are holding ME up!” The woman then threatened to “sue the country” as she was being forced off of the airplane.
Although this incident is ridiculous in and of itself, there is no indication as to whether or not the woman paid for the dog to be aboard the airplane. If she attempted to pass it off as an “emotional support dog” — a legitimate service dog would not misbehave in the manner similar to the particular dog in question — it would further prove to be additional evidence of the growing problem of passengers transporting their pets free of charge fraudulently under the guise of the Air Carrier Access Act, which was passed by the Congress of the United States back in 1986.
The distinct differences between the designations of service dog and emotional support animal are detailed in this article I wrote on Friday, December 5, 2014 pertaining to a disruptive emotional support pig, which was forced off of the aircraft along with its owner.
This latest incident exemplifies the need for revisions in the laws by the federal government of the United States — and policies by the airlines due to those laws — in terms of defining a true emotional support animal; which in ways should be similar to defining a service dog.
By the way, I requested and received official written permission to use this video. If it did not play for you within this article because it was restricted, please accept my apologies.
Source of screen shot is from a video — both courtesy of MrAdownie.
