United Airlines doesn’t hand out pillows any longer on most domestic flights, even in first class, but don’t worry, just need to bring your “service dog” onboard and you’ll have something soft and warm to snuggle with. And as an added bonus, you can skirt the in-cabin pet fee and size restrictions that “normies” must abide by by buying a cheap “service dog” vest on Amazon.
Service Dog Or Pillow? Fluffy Dog Spotted In United Airlines First Class
US law forces airlines to accept so-called “psychiatric service animals” onboard flights with a simple form attesting that the animal has been trained to perform a service…that’s it. The unscrupulous passenger who wants to avoid an in-cabin pet fee can simply purchase a service dog collar or vest online, lie on the form, and then hope that their pet does not attack other passengers or defecate onboard…
But it gets worse. There is no prescribed training program or certification, so spending an hour with Sparky in the backyard is theoretically good enough to self-certify your dog is “trained.”
Just last week, I wrote about a so-called “service dog” that attacked another passenger on an American Airlines flight. The attack was so severe that the flight was forced to divert.
> Read More: There’s A New Loophole To Allow Emotional Support Animals On Planes…
A fellow passenger posted the picture above of a very cute and fluffy (almost cloud-like) dog being held on a recent United flight in the first class cabin.
How do I know this is a service dog? Because 1.) it’s too large to be a pet, per United Airlines rules and 2.) if it were a pet, it would be required to remain in the pet carrier for the duration of the flight.
As I have said before, I’m waiting for the day when airlines are allowed to ban dogs…it’s such a sad thing, because there are people who truly rely on dogs…but there must be a stop to this foolishness.
At the same time, I think there is a great opportunity for airline(s) to capitalize on the dog love by having a dedicated section in the back of the plane, like the old smoking sections. There, dogs and cats can be out of their travel bags and airlines could force passengers who bring their pets ot buy the animal its own seat.
The problem I see is that the people who bring fake service dogs onboard mostly fly first class…it goes kit and caboodle with the entitlement culture of some of those who sit up front.
CONCLUSION
If a fluffy dog that sits in our lap to give us comfort is a “service dog” then every dog is a service dog. My last four flights have featured questionable service dogs onboard and as cute as this dog is (I want to squeeze it as well), it’s just not appropriate for a passenger airplane cabin.
image: reddit // hat tip: View From The Wing
I’d love a dog section and have no issues buying a seat, this JSX service model for dogs.
If this administration, with its blood lust for dogs doesn’t ban them, then it will never happen
Samoyeds are terrific pets. Playful, photogenic fur balls that shed the undercoat faster than anything you can imagine. Floating hair that sticks to everything. Bringing them into a metal tube packed with humans is grossly unfair. I would never do that, and I find those that are so needy to attempt to pass off a pet as a service dog should pay a hefty price. However Matthew
has proposed an excellent plan for pet suites.
RIP Dusty
need to have a section in FC for the dogs
Of course, only fare for a dog should be full fare J. But, they’d also get the full J service
This free passage of fake service dogs should end. There should be nothing wrong with charging people with real service dogs. After all, if I need more space, I pay for it. Alternatively, it is some sort of certification of service dog. That should be allowed. After all, you cannot self certify disability and then park in a disabled parking space.
I’ll say this again…my main concern is safety…especially on an emergency…who knows how any pet would respond? And how many human passengers won’t make it out because someone’s pet gets priority?
More on the recent “service animal” dog attack that resulted in a flight being diverted to Colorado Springs: A Belgian Malinois “service animal” bit a 10 year old child in the genitals.
https://krdo.com/news/2025/04/17/service-dog-bit-10-year-old-in-the-genitals-on-flight-causing-emergency-landing-at-cos/
It is a despicable situation. At the very least all dogs on planes, including “service animals” or “emotional service animals” must be muzzled. I hope to God that the child’s family sues the owner of the “service animal” for every cent of his net worth.
Samoyeds are usually lovely dogs, but they’re not small. It’s borderline cruelty to inflict this on an animal for your own selfish reasons, because you’re either too tight to pay for regular pet transport, or you’re so pathetically fragile in the personality department that even the briefest seperation from Fifi will cause you existential anguish.
Exactly. Buy the animal its damn own seat or don’t fly with it. Being a pet owner is like having a child. You’re responsible for their well-being and should adapt your life around it.
As someone who actually has a true service dog that has saved my life well over a hundred times there better NEVER come a day I am forced to try and servive without her. And no I shouldn’t have to spend extra money either… I’m disabled most of us tend to be on the poor side and shouldn’tbe penalized for being ill.. Also certification and paperwork poses bigger problems for the service dog community than many realize. How much would it cost where do we go for it and so on… What they need to do is pay attention to the dogs in the actual airport. If a “service dog” misbehaves or is not doing there job then they can be denied. Because service dogs are in the end about the training and attention the dog pays to the owner. Now please keep in mind they are still dogs and may be a little more distracted if they have not done plane travel before. But if they are barking (and not as an alert) and pulling on the leash or any other bad behavior show them the door by all means. You do not know the terror real service dog handlers have of the fake service dogs. Some service dogs have died do to fake service dogs or had to be retired because an incident ruins them. We are talking around a $30,000.00 peice of specialized medical equipment that takes around 2 years to shape. I want the fakes gone too! Show a pesky thing out the door please! Infact people who fake service dogs are committing a felony! I long for the law to actually hold them accountable! But don’t stop the thing that knows my heartrate is spiking before I catch on or my blood pressure dropping. Both potentially causing a blackout. Or being paralyzed from fear from ptsd. Or the people with seizure disorders having to risk something going wrong. I am with you on fed up with fakes!! But do not strip us of our federal rights because others choose to do the wrong thing. More training needs to be done for employees to be able to spot a real service dog and a problematic dangerous felony.
At this stage the airlines are equally as complicit as the passengers in transporting fake service animals.
I’ll gladly sit next to a dog any day over some snot nosed child throwing a temper tantrum and causing real havoc. If dogs need to go in cargo then children belong in the overhead lockers.
There are so many ways this nonsense could be avoided. Airlines could have at least one pet friendly flight on major routes each day subject to space limitations. They could require people to buy a seat for any pet that doesn’t fit under the seat in front. They could ban animals from first class unless they are seeing-eye dogs. Unfortunately the airlines are not nimble enough to do any of this. The disruptor is going to be more specialised charter flights for pet owners that eventually create an alternate market that the major airlines want to take over.
So disagree with this article. First of all, airlines can refuse a dog that does not behave as a service animal and do it daily. Second, making it harder or impossible for people with disabilities to travel with their pet is inaceptable they NEED them, no matter whatever someone else is doing. Third, there is a limit of animals per flight so for the 1-3 you might ever encounter in a flight I assure you, there are doing more good than the kids screaming, the person with the window opened/ light on the whole flight, or the person that talks loudly in the plane. If someone’s dog is mishaving there are procedures in place, it’s UNACCEPTABLE to remove a right for people with disabilities for your entitlement.
My entitlement?
The irony is so rich.
this will only end when airlines face a series of multi-million dollar lawsuits for fake service animals biting passengers. Can you image if you are the window passenger, and you get up to go to the bathroom? You will end up with half that dog’s fur on you. Or try eating a meal with that dog shaking or shedding fur all over your meal. Or being the next premium pax sitting in that seat because God knows, the aircraft are super cleaned in between flights. As one of the other commentors pointed out, it’s the FAKES that hurt everyone. Also, for the love of all, quit with the ‘oh, i’d rather sit next to a dog than a screaming baby’ comparison” narrative. You will not if that dog triggers an allergy attack on you or a seatmate around you. And unless you can document that you never were a “screaming baby” at any time in your life, I suggest you simply shut up. You want to hear a kid scream? Go to an ER and hear a kid scream because they had half their cheek bit off by a stranger’s dog that was “harmless until it wasn’t.” Aircraft are shared, public spaces. It’s time to see the mental health community, those that have disabilities that rely on true support animals, the airlines and the government come together and find reasonable, workable solutions that do not penalize people for illnesses and disabilities and that stop the fraudsters.