Posted on 06/02/2018 7:52:20 AM PDT by BBell
The eight puppies born at Airside F in Tampa International Airport last week were adorable instantly, internet famous quickly and controversial not long after.
The white golden retriever parents, a male named Golden Nugget and the pregnant Eleanor Rigby, were set to board an American Airlines flight to Philadelphia with owner Karen Van Atter. That’s when "Ellie" went into labor, while Nugget jumped around like a nervous dad-to-be.
It made national news, met mostly with congratulations and "awws" when the airport posted photos online. But the photos drew substantial negative reactions from people complaining that the dogs were not service animals, in their opinion.
For some, the puppies represent the latest gone-viral disturbance caused by more dogs traveling on planes. American Airlines, for instance, said from 2016 to 2017, it has seen as much as a 40 percent increase in dogs on its flights.
The increase, the offended say, is driven by vague rules and an abundance of emotional support animals. Unlike dogs that guide the blind or detect low blood sugar, these animals soothe passengers suffering from anxiety, depression, PTSD or similar issues, and drawing distinctions can be complicated. An increase in dogs lacking the training and temperament for commercial air travel, often a stressful experience even for humans, has led to reports of bad boys and girls blocking aisles, relieving themselves on seats and even biting.
Some airlines have cracked down on which species can fly as support animals after people flew with birds and rodents. In January, a woman’s emotional support peacock was turned away by United Airlines. In February, a woman said she flushed her emotional support hamster down a toilet after being told it couldn’t fly Spirit.
Suzy Wilburn, director of admissions and alumni for Southeastern Guide Dogs, called the puppy birth at the airport "horrendous," and cruel to Ellie, "since dogs naturally seek privacy and solitude while giving birth." The instinct for the mother to clean up, as well as the possibility for complications, could have made for a disgusting or traumatizing display for unprepared travelers, she said.
Still, the thing that bothered her most was that the dogs were referred to as "service dogs."
"There’s no way a service dog could be pregnant," said Wilburn, who is visually impaired and uses a guide dog. "You need your dog 365 days a year, that dog can’t take a vacation. You can’t give your dog maternity leave. ... It’s also very rare that someone would have two service dogs.
"If it had been someone’s pet, it would have been an adorable story, aside from the fact this pregnant dog shouldn’t have been flying. But people who are trying to trump the process and get their pets on an airline, it makes people look at me funny with my dog and question if it’s really a service dog."
Standards set by the International Guide Dog Federation and Assistance Dogs International, governing bodies that accredit organizations like Southeastern Guide Dogs, say dogs that aren’t spayed or neutered can never go into service. Baby guide dogs come from specialized breeding programs, and those dogs are for breeding, not working.
Van Atter disagreed. She told the Tampa Bay Times that Nugget and Ellie did not come from a specialized breeding program, just a regular breeder. They weren’t trained by a service dog organization, but a private trainer who taught Nugget to help with a litany of health issues, including detecting dangerous drops in her blood pressure or blood sugar, she said. Ellie is undergoing the same training, she said.
She didn’t have the dogs fixed because she’s worried it could affect their hormones and lead to cancer, whichshe said happened to a previous dog.A 2014 study found a possible link between spaying and neutering and a higher risk for certain types of cancer, though experts say more research is needed and recommend fixing most dogs.
And yet, "These are absolutely service dogs. I stand by that," Van Atter said by phone Wednesday. "There’s no reason a service dog can’t be pregnant. That’s absolutely wrong."
Blurring the lines further is how Van Atter additionally describes Ellie and Nugget as both emotional support animals and her pets, something the IGDF, Assistance Dogs International and Southeastern Guide Dogs don’t do. But even while mostly disagreeing with Van Atter, a spokeswoman for Assistance Dogs International agrees there can be legitimate service dogs that are privately trained as Ellie and Nugget were.
So who is to judge if Van Atter’s dogs are legitimate? The coalitions that accredit service dog programs like Southeastern Guide Dogs may be internationally respected, but they have no legal power and are not the final authority.
TIA has signs near the elevators that read "no animals allowed inside terminal except service animals or animals transported by air and in traveling containers." But the airport is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, meaning employees legally can’t ask people for proof beyond the questions, "Is that a service dog?" and "What service does it provide?"
So, TIA officials said, they defer to the airlines, which must follow the more permissive Air Carrier Access Act, which specifically allows for emotional support animals.
Airlines can make tweaks to their animal policies, but not big changes. American Airlines, the airline Van Atter and her dogs were set to fly on, announced earlier this month that it will soon require a 48-hour advanced notice and pre-clearance for emotional support animals, including documentation provided by a mental health professional.
Service dogs are not subject to this requirement. Critics note that its embarrassingly easy to get the emotional support dog documentation from websites. There are no rules regarding pregnant animals.
Airlines and airports both say the gray areas are a concern as they balance customer service and safety. Since both lack the authority to make big changes, they’re waiting on the Department of Transportation to figure it out.
"We’re kind of stuck in the middle, and we’re looking to DOT," said TIA spokeswoman Janet Scherberger. "Puppies are cute. Who doesn’t like puppies? But a lot of our resources went into that. We had firefighters, we had police officers and a maintenance team that needed to clean up. ... We’re definitely watching the issue."
On May 16, the DOT started soliciting comments from airports and airlines on the issue and announced it is considering amending the Air Carrier Access Act. Among the issues they’re considering are whether psychiatric service animals should be treated similar to other service animals, and whether there should be a distinction between service and emotional support animals.
Back in Philadelphia, Van Atter said the puppies are all healthy. One will be donated to a local service dog organization, and one will go to her breeder. The other six, she’s still not sure.
"My dogs are treated like children. They’re my whole life," she said. "I was just trying to get them home safely. I didn’t want to be flying so close to when she was due, but I have personal family issues that prevented me from leaving Florida sooner. What was I supposed to do?"
On Wednesday, New Jersey resident Robert Magnacca called the Tampa Bay Times trying to contact Van Atter. He wants to adopt or buy one of the famous puppies for his girlfriend’s birthday.
"I thought it would be a great story," he said.
Van Atter later took his number and said she’d think about it.
This "service dog" fad is going to end badly.
This is disgusting and way out of control. We should probably be glad the irresponsible owner didn’t let her dog birth 8 puppies on the plane. Selfish witch.
A service dog should be trained and certified. I'm not sure how this would be done--locally or nationally, but there needs to be some standard, some minimum requirement.
Maybe a federal form at the airport, the owner certifying under penalty of perjury that their dog is a trained and real service dog, then prosecuting a few people as examples for violating this?
A follow up
I agree. These people are cut from the same cloth as those who use fake or “borrowed” placards to park in the handicap spots. There needs to be, I hate to say it, regulation of service animals, and significant penalties for those who abuse it.
“There needs to be, I hate to say it, regulation of service animals, and significant penalties for those who abuse it.”
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Service animals aren’t the problem,,,the ridiculous Companion animals are the problem-——there are 2 separate categories.
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When I saw this on the news, I wondered if this was another case of service dogs that weren’t.
An article was posted here when it first happened.
This “service dog” fad is going to end badly.
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Yep like a lot of things people find ways to abuse the orginal intent.
Here’s a link to a couple other articles posted sometime back about service dogs.
Mom service dog has puppies in Tampa airport, while dad service dog looks on ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3658478/posts
63 replies
Pregnant woman and service dog punched in airplane scuffle in Orlando ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3656543/posts
109 comments
This fad is indeed going to end badly. And the worst part of it all is that it will harm and do damage to legitimately disabled people who actually need service dogs.
Guess he said the same thing about women aboard US Navy ships......
Service dogs can be viewed as a sort of "prescription drug" for some. A drug being abused.
The only problem with service dogs are you weak-knee sissy Freepers who constantly complain about dogs like whinny liberal scum. Dogs are man’s best friend and there is nothing you wimps can do to change it.
That selfish cruel woman should be charged with animal abuse and she should pay for all the services that were called.
This is one area that the government has to step in. These people are extremely irresponsible.
Suck on the tit of government.
“But a lot of our resources went into that. We had firefighters, we had police officers and a maintenance team that needed to clean up”
Simple solution...send the owner a bill
Grow up and face reality.
Sorry, I don’t want them all over my flights and in my hotels. Your attitude is sh%&ty. A dog is nothing more than an animal. Quit elevating dogs to the level of humans. Also, my experience is that those excessively obsessed with dogs strongly lean left, because they use dogs as a surrogate for having children. You seem like one of those sissies that cries when a dog dies, but couldn’t care less when a human dies.
Nobody but trolls are that provocative.
If you are selling the puppies, the mother is not a service dog. She is an income producer.
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