Service Animals
There are always cases where someone tries to do people who deserve and need something a favor, and other people who don’t need it try to cash in.
One example is the early boarding option on all airlines for “people requiring a little extra time to go down the jetway.” About half these people are clearly in need of such an offer, and the other half sprint off the plane at the destination as though in an Olympic relay qualifying round. (I saw people in Disneyland use wheelchairs they didn’t need just to use the faster line.)
Now, we have service animals and companion animals, which have included turkeys, lizards, and snakes. I love animals and especially dogs, but are you seriously telling me you’re going to go to pieces if your animal isn’t next to you continually? There’s an entire industry aimed at “certifying” and providing the proper papers and accoutrements for service animals. But we’re not talking seeing-eye dogs here. We’re talking people’s pets land people who either don’t want to pay the $125 or so for a seat for them or don’t want them shipped in cargo.
There are documented cases of animals defecating in the airplanes, vomiting on other passengers, and, unfortunately, a 70-pound dog who bit a passenger in the face several times, requiring hospitalization and stitches.
The airlines ought to get tougher on this nonsense. If you’re in a wheelchair, use a walker or a cane, by all means board first. Otherwise, get in line. And if you don’t have an MD’s note that there’s a serious health risk without your animal, buy it a seat, ship it in cargo, or drive with it.
