I don’t worry about non-handicapped people claiming to be handicapped just to get a wheelchair ride and preferential boarding. I’ve seen people of all races doing that, and it really doesn’t hold things up. They’re usually so fat it would take them a long time to board anyway and the staff actually gets them seated and out of the way faster.
But I had a hellacious ride to Europe one time in premium with a 40-something white woman and her large, smelly, badly behaved “emotional support” dog. The thing crawled up on the seat and then onto the passenger next to the owner. So guess what? The flight attendants moved the seat mate out of premium and to some other seat when she complained, and the freak and her dog got to keep two seats. And you could smell the dog all over the cabin. Finally, to top it off, the freak turns around and grins when the dog starts whimpering and says, “Actually, I’m his emotional support animal.”
I think these fictional “emotional support animals” shouldn’t be allowed at all, and I congratulate Delta on at least taking this step to control the situation.
A couple of years ago, I watched the local college basketball star ride around in one of the handicapped carts at Walmart. The next week, he was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. I guess they didn't know about his "injury."
Just last month, I watched a couple with an emotional-support pit bull in the same Walmart. That was one skiddish dog who didn't want to be there anymore than the other customers didn't want him there. The owners were oblivious to the dog's obvious discomfort and its potential to lash out. At least, the dog was on a leash but neither of the people would have been able physically restrain the dog had it decided that it was going to act. I did my shopping at the other end of the store.