Posted on 08/02/2019 10:35:09 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Delta Air Lines has come under scrutiny after the carrier reportedly did not allow a service dog scheduled to be delivered to a two-year-old child dealing with seizures on one of its flights.
According to FOX 10 Phoenix, pet rescue agency representative Kim Biggerstaff was planning to fly a service dog named Daisy to California to help a two-year-old girl named Mila Lhautara who was born with hydrocephalus and recently diagnosed with epilepsy.
When Biggerstaff tried to book a flight with Delta, the airline said the service dog would not be allowed to board. The animal was being flown to Mila, as her seizures cause difficulty breathing and Daisy would be able to alert the parents to the potential danger.
While Delta updated its emotional support animal policies in 2018 to not allow pit bulls on flights, Biggerstaff said Daisy is a boxer/bulldog mix. Despite the dog’s documentation and training, Delta continued to refuse the animal on its flights.
“I said that's discrimination. That's illegal,” Biggerstaff FOX 10 Phoenix. “They said, ‘No, we have lawyers on standby. We wouldn't do this if there were any legal issues that could arouse.’”
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Having been to Europe where it is common, in restaurants, well trained dogs don’t bother me..........
People have abused the “service dog” thing by having “emotional support” animals. If these people are so weak, they should stay home and keep out of the public. I call BS on “emotional support” animals in restaurants, food stores, airplanes and so forth. I believe many people who have them buy the animal’s sign vest on ebay. Stay home and take your anxiety meds. Everyone would be better off.
Delta would’ve gotten a lot of good PR if they had allowed the dog to fly free with a lot of fanfare.
I wonder if the woman was trying to buy a ticket for herself AND the dog, or did she expect her seatmate to make room for the dog?
Yep me too. The thing is that I find myself speaking to them and shaming them more and more now.
It’s maddening!.....
I worked for Delta for 3.5 years (post military retirement “fun” job) and the increase in “service animals” we allowed on flights was enormous. Most of these “Fifi’s” were anything but. Our hands were tied by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). It’s about the biggest scam going in the passenger airline business.
Responsibility2nd wrote: “Especially for a 2 year old! But it is half pit - half boxer.”
Except for the fact that: “Daisy is a boxer/bulldog mix.”
This is my issue with the knee jerk reactions towards pitbulls. Most do not know what a pit bull is. Any big dog is a pit bull.
AmStaffs are actually very sweet-tempered. I have one who is in training to help me with tasks around the house, as nerve damage in my left arm and varying levels of organ insufficiency, osteoporosis, arthritis, and spinal fusion can make daily tasks difficult. She’s also certified as a therapy animal that I can bring to see patients in hospitals and nursing homes as a part of those patients’ therapies.
You have to really mistreat them or train them to be vicious. Staffordshire Terriers originating from Ireland were called “Nanny Dogs” due to their gentle demeanor around children and their families, and of course once immigrants came over, an American breed emerged.
I’ve spent a lot of time with many dogs, and I’ve never had a Pit snap at me. Chihuahuas on the other hand were kind of nasty. And when my husband was a kid, he was bit in the face by a Husky that wanted his peach. Not to say that AmStaffs can’t be vicious, because it happens, but before them it was Rottweilers which were the hated breed. Before them it was Dobermans, and before them was German Shepherds.
Also, service dogs are exempt from breed bans.
Relevant to the article, if an animal is being transported to its intended patient without the patient present, it doesn’t need to be seated in the cabin. If the patient is present, that is an entirely different matter. Dogs alert to seizures before they happen, giving more time for family and the patient to prepare and be ready for it, especially if they are severe. It’s not as if they just bark afterwards as an alert. They’re there to give the patient a heads-up, in which case the animal should be in the cabin with their patient.
Do not forget ponies and goats.
Only an idiot thinks a pit bull should be allowed in an airplane with people who cannot escape. And yet another of these ding dongs who name the Pit Bull something like “daisy”, and tell you how they are just clowns, etc.
Good for Delta...for once.
Ignorant & absurd. Obviously you failed to read the article.
I agree that service animals have been abused to extend to mere pets, but this ‘Pit Bull’ was trained to alert the parents to a breathing problem in a 2 y/o.
Other examples include diabetic shock and epilepsy alert.
Anyway, the person wanting to fly with the dog wasn’t disabled (unless you count thinking a pitbull would be a wonderful service animal for a 2 year old)
This was a trainer, delivering an animal. No rights apply. Besides, Delta has no business locking pits into aircraft. The hell with that.
If people want to surround themselves with pitbulls or pitbull mixes, that is their right. But as a flying customer I have the right not to have to sit next to one.
And airlines should have the right not to transport them.
If people want to surround themselves with pitbulls or pitbull mixes ...
“We wants ‘em ‘til we has ‘em, then we dumps ‘em.”
Most “service animals” I have observed deliver no service. The alleged services of this animal can be more effectively delivered by technology and humans.
But the real issue is demanding that the animal be allowed in the passenger compartment while no alleged service is being delivered. At that point it is just a dog and not a service animal. Kiddos to Delta on this one.
First of all, Delta has a policy about no pit bulls due to getting sued after a dog attacked a passenger on a flight.
Second, they admit the dog was a boxer/pit bull mix, so this is NOT a case of every dog being a pit bull.
Third, ship the dog in a crate in the hold should have been the way to do it, since the dog was NOT being used as a service animal at that time. It was on its way to its new owners.
Four, whiny people complaining because they don’t get their way on social media is an instant turn off for me! I am sick of companies rolling over on good common sense decisions because of social media whiners!
I agree with everything you said. Kudos.
Maigray, if 99% of the people would stop calling pets “service animals” we could get back to legit service animals and their handlers/ owner being treated with respect. as it is I suspect every service animal as a scam. BTW I knew a woman from church that really did need a service animal. she had some severe emotional problems. and she asked people not to pet her service animal. it was a very gental whippet retired racing dog. and very well trained.
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