Friend faking service dog on plane

[Bicoastal]

I’m so mad I could chew nails. :mad: A friend posted to FB a photo of her dog and luggage waiting to board a flight. Her dog is wearing a service dog vest. Her dog is not a service dog.

The whole ‘throw a vest on my puppy so she can fly with me’ is a huge issue in the Service Dog community; one that will probably force the ADA to change their entire stance on service animals within the next several years. As if handicap people need more hurdles?! As someone who could conceivably have a SD in my future, this really bothers me.

Guess she doesn’t know ESA’s can fly too? :dead:

Post something (basically my second para) or sit on my hands?

[Rackonteur]

What good would posting “something” on FB do?

Not relieve your blood pressure, for one thing.

If she’s a real-life friend, confront her when she gets back, if you still want to by then. If she’s just a FB friend, you can unfriend her.

Otherwise let it go. I know that’s not the response you wanted! I would be p.o.'d too, and it’s unethical and dishonest for her to do this.

But for your own health, let it go. You’re not her mom, her confessor, or the airline’s mom.

She may get enough flak from the other passengers to learn a lesson.

[Zu_Zu]

[B]

• very shameful behavior ~ IMHO

** someone (airlines personnel) needs to be made aware of her ‘counterfeit’ status ~

***she should be kicked off the flight ~[/B]

[gumtree]

I know people who have been doing this for years. I don’t see it as being any big deal.

But I am far from being “PC” and I certainly wouldn’t be a member of the Nanny Patrol or PC police.

Me I would be happy to pay for a seat for my pooch if they would sell it to me. I’d rather have someone’s dog sitting next to me than a lot of the people I have had over the years.

As always to each their own.

[gumtree]

I know people who have been doing this for years. I don’t see it as being any big deal.

But I am far from being “PC” and I certainly wouldn’t be a member of the Nanny Patrol or PC police.

Me I would be happy to pay for a seat for my pooch if they would sell it to me. I’d rather have someone’s dog sitting next to me than a lot of the people I have had over the years.

As always to each their own.

[AKB]

I think the real problem is that it is almost impossible to safely fly with dog who is not a service dog. After that is addressed, the fakes should decrease.

Some dogs who are not traditional service dogs do have service dog functions. We have a friend who has a chronic illness and does not fly alone because he doesn’t notice tripping hazards in strange places, and then falls. He is not substantially disabled but would be able to fly safely if he could bring his dog. His dog is not a service dog, so he just doesn’t fly.

[Rackonteur]

Just curious – where is the little doggies’ room on a plane?

[Credosporthorses]

My mom is a flight attendant. It is a huge issue of people slapping a service dog label on and animal they wish and bringing it on the plane. Several times she has had dogs vomit and poop in the aisle. Not only disrespectful to the flight staff but the passengers that now have to deal with your animals mess.

[dotneko]

Entitled arse. Perhaps karma will strike and she will actually
need that service dog.
I would have shamed her on her facebook page.
‘Oh, I didn’t hear about your ACCIDENT! So sorry something happened
to you. It must have, because you couldn’t possibly be so entitled as to
actually fake a disability to bring your dog on board, could you?’

[Simkie]

It’s my understanding that you actually have to have a note from a medical professional to take a dog on a plane–just a vest and the claim is not enough. And that the airline will call the doctor to confirm. Is that not the case?

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Credosporthorses;8570861]
My mom is a flight attendant. It is a huge issue of people slapping a service dog label on and animal they wish and bringing it on the plane. Several times she has had dogs vomit and poop in the aisle. Not only disrespectful to the flight staff but the passengers that now have to deal with your animals mess.[/QUOTE]

I have seen LOTS of people vomit on fights. Lots. Not all grab the puke bag fast enough. At time it does and will cause spontaneous reactions from those in the area. At least dogs don’t “projectile”.

Pinching a loaf, well that’s tough. But there have been a couple of incidents of people doing the same on the news.

Sorry couldn’t resist.

If I was going to play the service dog card. I would withhold water and food before the flight.

Being a flight attendant has got be pretty darn testing at times. I used to fly a lot and saw lots and lots of jerks. I couldn’t do it, I’d get fired for smacking the butt heads.

[JanM]

Emotional support animals are not service dogs or service animals. ESAs can only go where any other animal can go, while service dogs/animals can go anywhere. It’s despicable that someone will fake having a service animal so they can take their animal on a flight.

There have been previous threads about this, and the legal rights of service animals were described in very clear terms.

[Horsegal984]

[QUOTE=Simkie;8570935]
It’s my understanding that you actually have to have a note from a medical professional to take a dog on a plane–just a vest and the claim is not enough. And that the airline will call the doctor to confirm. Is that not the case?[/QUOTE]

They should be able to provide “credible proof” that it is a service dog. However, the airlines do not call the doctors, because if they did disabled persons would be limited to flying when their doctor is available to talk to the airlines. HUGE hassle.

The biggest problem is that there are a bunch of scam websites that will sell you the doctors letter too, saying things like you’re disabled by your anxiety, or depression or something equally hard to prove.

Now if we could shut down those scam factories then it may well help cutdown on the fakers. But until then, entitled asses will continue to pay $100 to game the system.

And no, the vast majority of pets are NOT prepared for the flights, the tight foot spaces, the close quarters, etc.

[Simkie]

[QUOTE=JanM;8571016]
Emotional support animals are not service dogs or service animals. ESAs can only go where any other animal can go, while service dogs/animals can go anywhere. It’s despicable that someone will fake having a service animal so they can take their animal on a flight.

There have been previous threads about this, and the legal rights of service animals were described in very clear terms.[/QUOTE]

ESAs are allowed on flights:

https://www.nsarco.com/flying-with-emotional-support.html

http://servicedogcentral.org/content/ESA-flying

http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webisapi.dll?New,Kb=askBlue,case=obj(1095)

Etc, etc, etc…

[Horsegal984]

Oh dear god not a NSAR link! They’re one of the worst offenders for scams. I suddenly have the urge to vomit.

But yes, ESAs can fly, because they are covered under the ACAA, which governs air travel, not the ADA. Also, they can live in no pet housing under the FHA.

[vacation1]

I’d post a response to her FB celebration of behaving badly. She made the choice to brag about her unethical behavior. You don’t have to be nasty, but it’s worth letting her and anyone else reading it know that passing your pet off as a service dogs is not just a harmless little way to help your dogs fly safely. It has real consequences. Look at all the service dogs being rejected and thrown out of businesses in the past few years. I’m 41, and that is totally new - people have respected guide dogs and service dogs for decades. Now, everyone knows there are a ton of people gaming the system and all service dogs are open to question.

I’m strongly anti-BS with the service dog frauds. I’ve seen real guide and service dogs work and they are amazing. They don’t cause trouble, they don’t bark or snap or run away, and they seem almost unnaturally well-trained. I’ve almost had a heart attack on a bus, realizing that a 85lb German Shepherd was curled under the seat. I’d wondered what I’d been kicking gently for the past 5 minutes. Dog never moved, never reacted at all. These are some of the best dogs alive, and they deserve far more respect than to be thrust into controvesy because some people want to get the ‘special treatment’ of those who have a disability and a properly trained, appropriate service animal.

[spotted_draft_x_fill]

The Today show just did a segment about this and pretty much told everyone that for over $100 you can bring your pet on a flight for free with no questions asked. It’s sad.

I did encounter a fake service dog not too long ago at a Biglots store. The pug was wearing a cheap looking service animal vest, on a flexi, and happily wandering up and down the aisles sniffing everything and everyone. I asked them where did they get their dog or who trained him, since I was looking into getting one. They replied uh uh he’s a medical dog while reeling him in and quickly went to another aisle.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Bicoastal;8570338]
I’m so mad I could chew nails. :mad: A friend posted to FB a photo of her dog and luggage waiting to board a flight. Her dog is wearing a service dog vest. Her dog is not a service dog.

The whole ‘throw a vest on my puppy so she can fly with me’ is a huge issue in the Service Dog community; one that will probably force the ADA to change their entire stance on service animals within the next several years. As if handicap people need more hurdles?! As someone who could conceivably have a SD in my future, this really bothers me.

Guess she doesn’t know ESA’s can fly too? :dead:

Post something (basically my second para) or sit on my hands?[/QUOTE]

yep, I’d call her out. Fake service dogs are a HUGE problem as most of them are not trained and discredit the real SDs who are well trained. Our country has an enormous problem with dogs on lots of levels and this kind of lying behavior only makes it worse.

[threedogpack]

@Horsegal984;8571028

They should be able to provide “credible proof” that it is a service dog. However, the airlines do not call the doctors, because if they did disabled persons would be limited to flying when their doctor is available to talk to the airlines. HUGE hassle.

No they cannot. As per the ADA, there are only 2 questions an employee may ask:

GENERAL RULES

Q7. What questions can a covered entity’s employees ask to determine if a dog is a service animal?
A. In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

The biggest problem is that there are a bunch of scam websites that will sell you the doctors letter too, saying things like you’re disabled by your anxiety, or depression or something equally hard to prove.

no, the biggest problem are the dogs posing as SD, who are not. They are not usually well trained, often exhibit aggression or fear and are a liability.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=gumtree;8570423]
I know people who have been doing this for years. I don’t see it as being any big deal.

But I am far from being “PC” and I certainly wouldn’t be a member of the Nanny Patrol or PC police.

Me I would be happy to pay for a seat for my pooch if they would sell it to me. I’d rather have someone’s dog sitting next to me than a lot of the people I have had over the years.

As always to each their own.[/QUOTE]

here is why it’s a big deal. If you have a disability and require help, in either the form of another human or a dog, and the facility you want to enter has had pets posing as SD, they may ask you to leave. Now, what if you don’t have a human who can help you? What if the agency that supplies the humans cannot assist over the course of a midnight shift? What if you have something like diabetes, where your sugars fluctuate and those fluctuations can kill you? Having a service dog, is a privilege and that should be maintained as such.

to each their own, no. Just no.