If you live with an emotional support animal, be it a dog, a cat, or even a pig, then you know just how important these animals are for your well-being. Support dogs now are trained to detect high blood sugar in diabetics and oncoming seizures for epileptics. Dogs have been used for decades in the treatment of post traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD.
Therapy dogs and other support animals are allowed to go into places that mere pets are not allowed to go. Flying in an airplane is one of those places. But perhaps, not for much longer.
US airline passengers may soon be banned from flying with their emotional support animals. The US Department of Transportation has proposed new rules that would no longer classify emotional support animals as service animals. The new rules would only allow those dogs that have been specially trained to be brought onboard.
The airlines have been up in arms for a while now, stating that the whole process has gotten out of hand. As the rules currently stand, people are flying with pigs and snakes, untrained dogs and ferrets; the airlines maintain that this has to change.
They have been lobbying the Transportation Department to crack down on what they call a scam. Usually, to fly your animal in-cabin with you will cost an additional fee (sometimes as high as $100 each way), but people are getting around that by claiming that their animal is a “support” animal.
Under the current law, it is just about impossible to ban any animal from a domestic flight. This can be dangerous to those who actually depend upon highly trained service dogs.
“This is a wonderful step in the right direction for people like myself who are dependent on and reliant on legitimate service animals,” says Albert Rizzi, founder of a dog service training company for the blind.
If the new rules are put into place, only certified service animals will be allowed on domestic flights.
What do you think? Should the airlines crack down on allowing all animals on their flights?
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