Flying Has – Thankfully – No Longer Gone To The Dogs
I was working public relations at a major auto race when a well-known wanker – if you’re not familiar with that term, keep reading – walked up to one of our pre-event press days with a small dog on a leash.
“Annie,” I said, “you can’t have your dog here.” After all, we had drivers, media, celebrities and fast-moving race cars. A dog would be a hazard to not just it but potentially to others.
“Oh yes I CAN,” she snapped at me. “It’s my emotional support dog!” She then pranced past me as if were a border security guard and she had just flashed me her passport.
When I mentioned this to the head PR person, who also was in charge of credentialing media, he said we were helpless in this situation. “She got her dog declared as an emotional support animal and there’s nothing we can do about it,” he said, sighing and then taking off his hat to wipe his brow as if to emphasize his frustration.
“And that’s not all.” he added. “It’s going to be with her all weekend in the press room.”
I sighed.
Frankly, the ones who needed emotional support at that event were those of us who had to put up with this woman, not her, but that’s getting off my point here.
It’s about the misuse of emotional support animals and because of my experiences, I was not the least bit surprised when taking such animals on airplanes became a hot travel issue. With the wanker and others I have witnessed taking pets into places they don’t belong – I once saw a small dog being held by a lady licking a plate in a restaurant – I know that in most cases, claiming the need for an emotional support animal is a crock.
That’s why I’m glad to see airlines cracking down on it. Apparently, people were bringing animals such as peacocks and turkeys onto planes. Untrained dogs were lunging and barking at passengers and even peeing in the aisles. (There are no trees or fire hydrants on planes, you see.)
Now I’m not an insensitive soul and I realize some people really do need emotional support animals. Combat veterans are one such example and if they need support for having been shelled and shot at for our country then by all means I am for them to bring such animals on a plane.
But I bet if you really investigated, about 95% of the people claiming to need emotional support animals when they travel are just trying to have their pet fly for free. Thankfully, the airlines have finally begun to see through this farce and have cracked down on what animals can be brought on planes as well as requiring paperwork and the filling out of forms (that alone will discourage about half the people wanting to bring their pet cockatoo or whatever on board).
I have a friend who has a service animal dog, a golden retriever. This animal has been trained, certified and travels with a red service animal vest, as well as an identification badge. This is a completely different situation and I have no problem with legitimate service animals on planes.
But emotional support animals? Pleeeze!
Oh, and a wanker, by the way, is someone who comes across as being important but is not, such as non-legitimate reporter who always claims to write for a major publication and even manages to acquire accreditation through one, but really is just there as a fan.
Cheers!
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