It’s a Dog Fight

Several years ago, I sat in the waiting area of a major airport, trying to ignore the constant yapping of a small, clearly agitated dog being restrained with difficulty on the lap of a fellow passenger. An airline rep approached the passenger and asked the only two questions allowed by law: “Is that a service animal? What service does it provide for you?”

 “Yes. It keeps me from having panic attacks,” the woman said defiantly, and the airline employee retreated.

Shortly after that, another passenger arrived at the gate. She gripped the high, stiff handle on the harness of a Labrador retriever that wore a vest emblazoned with the words “The Seeing Eye.” Without warning, the smaller dog launched itself from its owner’s lap, snarling and snapping at the guide dog. The owner of the small dog jumped up and retrieved her animal from the Labrador’s vest and stomped back to her seat. That neither she nor the still-yapping dog had an obvious panic attack amazed me, as I questioned, to myself of course, what service was being provided—other than a moment of exercise for the woman and her dog.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has recently established new regulations regarding service animals on domestic and international flights. This regulation has provoked a flurry of protests by people who are accustomed to taking their pets for free in airplane cabins by claiming they are emotional support animals. Are these new regulations discriminating against persons with disabilities? Let’s look at some details.

The new rule has 12 provisions. The first is the definition: a service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.

Okay, how was the service dog trained? Well, as a puppy it lived with a foster family that taught it basic behavior and socialization. When it was between 13 and 19 months old, it came to the Seeing Eye campus to work with an individual instructor for four months of intensive training. At the end of the four months, the dog took a final exam: leading the instructor successfully on a field trip to New York City. About 75 percent of the dogs pass this training and are matched with a person who is blind or visually impaired. The new owner works with the dog and its instructor for an additional 25 days on campus before the owner and the dog go home. But the training doesn’t end there. The new owner continually reinforces the dog with praise and correction, and The Seeing Eye staff members are always available for telephone consultations and even home visits if needed.

Now, what about that emotional support dog in the airport? The law requires no specific training for emotional support animals. The rationale is that their presence is enough to support people who have anxiety, depression, or stress. The only requirement is that the animal be manageable in public and not create a nuisance. In light of this requirement, the little dog did not do well.

The second provision of the new DOT regulation is that emotional support animals are no longer considered service animals. However, the third provision grants psychiatric service animals the same status as other service animals. In other words, a person with an emotional or psychiatric disability can still obtain and travel with a service companion that has appropriate documentation.

Three other regulations deal with this documentation. The DOT has developed forms attesting to the animal’s health, behavior, and training. Airlines may require these to be submitted 48 hours before travel or may require them at the departure gate. Providing these forms is no problem for a passenger with a Seeing Eye–certified or other officially trained dog.

But what about the certification for an emotional support animal? Until the new regulations were passed, this wasn’t a problem. A person wishing to claim a pet as an emotional support animal could simply go online and purchase certification from a for-profit agency. On one such site, for $54, a basic kit offers lifetime registration in a national database maintained by the company, plus a framed certificate, ID card with leash clip, and two official-looking vest patches. “Deluxe” and “premium” packages added more goodies for $114 and $154, respectively. The applicant could also obtain a certification letter from a licensed mental health professional for an additional fee. Just out of curiosity, I took the free online assessment—10 multiple-choice questions like these: “In the past two weeks, how often have you had little interest or pleasure in doing things that you usually like to do?” “How often have you felt sad or depressed?” “How often have you felt worried, anxious, or on edge?” The multiple choice options were never, sometimes, or often; I replied with 5 often, 4 sometimes, and 1 never response. My results were immediate: “Congratulations! Based on your responses, you are a good candidate to qualify for an ESA.” All that was left for me to do was fill in my credit card info and upload a photo of my pet to have a certified emotional support animal. This certification, by the way, must be renewed annually—for a fee. Big surprise!

Additional DOT regulations allow airlines to require that service animals be harnessed, leashed, or tethered at all times in the airport and on the aircraft and to limit a single passenger to two service animals. The regulations also allow airlines to require a service animal to fit within its handler’s foot space on the aircraft. This is not a hardship; I have personally seen a full-grown Labrador tuck herself comfortably into the space for carry-ons and go to sleep.