As I was walking through DFW airport the other day I noticed something revolting. Dog Poop! Yep, just a pile of poop sitting in the middle of a carpeted area adjacent to the Sky Train elevators. It didn’t take a detective to figure out what happened. Human takes pet to the elevator to avoid the massive escalator, pet finds a nice piece of carpet and defecated. Human looks around and leaves the poop. My guess is the human didn’t prepare for this eventuality, didn’t care, or assumed DFW has people for that. I’m assuming Gary and I are not talking about the same poop here, but it all comes down the same issue.
Emotional Support or Service Animals
Believe it or not, airlines allow pets to fly in the main cabin. Typically the animal resides in a vented bag which sits under the seat in front of the passenger. The airline charges the passenger approximately $100 for the right to bring their pet on the plane. Generally, airlines only allow a few (1-2) paid pets on a single aircraft. Then people started getting crafty. To avoid paying the $100 fee to bring their pet on the place, they figured out you can register your dog as an ‘Emotional Support Animal.’ It’s about as easy as being ordained on the internet. After paying a small one time fee you receive the credentials to bring your pet on the flight.
The issue is that many of these ’emotional support pets’ do not undergo the same obedience training of true ‘service’ pets. They often misbehave. A true service animal undergoes intensive training before they are allowed to provide service. This training prevents them from barking, pooping, or biting other humans while working. Emotional support pets do not require the same training. Yet, today, it’s difficult for an airlines employee to question the need of a service pet.
The Bigger Issue
The issue is that with the influx of emotional support pets you have run into more and more instances of them misbehaving. I travel more than the average person, but for me to actually find dog poop in a HUGE international airport must, by the law of averages, mean it happening fairly often. I understand people wanting to cheat the system to get their pet on the flight for free, but at very least you should be prepared to clean up after it. But that brings us to the issue, the people who are cheating the system are probably the same people who absolutely wouldn’t clean up after their pets!
Dog poop in the airport is one thing, but I’m worried about a bigger issue. I’m worried about a fake emotional support pet causing harm to another passenger. I’m worried about a pet biting a pet mid-flight for trying to pet it. Maybe that issue would stop the airlines for allowing passengers from bringing fake emotional support pets on flights.
Final Thoughts
This is a tricky spot for the airlines. Because it is so easy for pet owners to register their pets as support pets, the airlines are forced to let the pets on board. I think the criteria for registering an emotional support pet needs to be raised. I also find it sad than people would take advantage of a program setup for people with legitimate disabilities to save a few hundred dollars.
Bottom line, I saw dog poop on my recent flight through DFW and it’s unacceptable. Anyone who brings a dog into an airport should do so with the expectation of cleaning up after them. I personally think anyone caught allowing their pet to relive themselves in public should be denied boarding because what’s stopping the pet from doing so on the plane?
