By Indy Behr (who, it should be noted, thinks his cats are cool–but not transportable)
The Blog Staff opted to take a deep dive into Pets. While several of our bloggers write with great affection and sentimentality about pets, Indy has a . . . pet-peeve. He doesn’t want to see your pets in public.
Over the last few years, I have observed an incredibly frustrating trend.
People have started to feel comfortable bringing their pets everywhere, especially dogs. I genuinely cannot walk down the aisle of a grocery store without walking next to a mini poodle. I once witnessed a small dog defecate in the aisle of a Gelson’s. I have never been all that much of a dog person, but, if I encounter a dog in my neighborhood, I will absolutely tolerate it. However, now people can take their pets on AIRPLANES without cages for “emotional support.”
I would firstly like to make a very clear distinction: service animals for those with visual impairments and/or other physical disabilities are entirely necessary, and I will never have any issue with them being wherever they need to be. Service dogs are considered something that most places are rightfully required to allow by the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, ada.gov publicly states that “emotional support dogs” are not service animals, period. Service dogs are required to be trained. With training, they don’t bother others or lick them at random. I know there are some people reading this who are going to think how insensitive I am, but I am not the only one saying this. I am sure for many people your flight or trip to the grocery store will be more fun with your dog, but that does not make bringing Fido along a medical necessity.
When airlines let untrained dogs sit out in the open on planes, it can be downright dangerous. One man needed twenty-eight stitches after an emotional support Labrador attacked him on a Delta flight from Atlanta to San Diego. And, now, there’s a get-around even for airlines that require documentation stating pets are necessary. Many websites will let you pay and get a “certificate” that makes your pet an emotional support pet. This can include pigs. This can include, somehow, horses. You can say that you have panic attacks without your duck on planes, and, bam, you are able to fly across the country holding a bird in your hands that can poop and quack whenever it wants.
The whole idea of emotional support animals being helpful in almost any case has nearly no scientific evidence. The Journal of Applied Developmental Science has said the only research on this issue is much too early to reach any conclusion (washingtonpost.com). Previous studies often had other issues–like not controlling other causes for increased or decreased stress in the presence of animals. I don’t think that we should be letting emotional support animals everywhere until we know they actually work.
If you are reading this and thinking, “But I know my dog makes me happy!”–I am not doubting that this is the case, but if there is still no actual evidence that your dog does things like lower anxiety in the long term, I do not think it is worth it to allow your untrained dog into all public areas. If you are considering paying someone online to say that your animal is for emotional support just because you want to take them out in public, please do not.
