Delta Air Lines has purportedly banned a passenger after their (fake) service dog attacked a blind passenger and his (real) service dog.
Report: Passenger Banned After Fake Service Dogs Attack Blind Man And His Real Service Dogs After Delta Air Lines Flight
Read the chilling story of Dimitris Kostantinos Kouniaris, who flew on Delta Air Lines to San Diego (thanks to YMMV for bringing this story to my knowledge), then I’ll offer my thoughts below.
I need to share something that happened to Anza and me last night when we arrived in San Diego—something that shook me to my core.
Picture this.
You’ve just landed. You’re exhausted but filled with anticipation because this is a special moment—your guide dog’s puppy raiser is waiting to see him. Your heart is pounding, emotions swirling. You can’t see, but you can feel the way Anza moves, the way his body shifts in the harness, the way he takes each step with purpose and confidence. You trust him completely.
With the help of an airport assistant, you step off the plane. You grip Anza’s harness handle and leash firmly in your left hand and give the “forward” command. He moves smoothly, guiding you up the jet bridge—calm, steady, absolutely in control. His training is second nature; this is what he was born to do.
And then—chaos.
Before you even reach the main concourse, before you can get your bearings, an off-leash dog comes out of nowhere, lunging straight at Anza and me. In an instant, it’s charging—teeth bared, growling, barking—a full-force attack.
Your heart slams into your chest.
You don’t have time to think, only react. You hear the airport assistant gasp. With my left hand still gripping Anza’s harness and leash, I drop the harness handle to free his movement while keeping hold of the leash. Instinct kicks in—I step directly between Anza and the attacking dog, arms out, body tense—forming a shield.
Two seconds. That’s all it takes.
The dog’s owner finally grabs it, yanking it away. But in those two seconds, your world tilts. Your hands are shaking.
Your breath is ragged. Your body is still locked in fight-or-flight. And Anza—your lifeline, your partner—stands by your side, waiting for your next command.
The reality of what just happened crashes down on you. You’re furious. You’re terrified. You’re trembling with the weight of what could have been.
Because here’s the truth people don’t seem to understand: if a service dog gets attacked, it can end their career.
$70,000. That’s the cost of the highly specialized training that makes a guide dog what they are. If that training is undone—if they are traumatized, injured, or afraid to work—that investment is lost. But more importantly, the independence, the safety, and the trust that a blind person has in their guide dog is shattered.Anza is trained for moments like this. He has worked through airports, city streets, and crowded spaces. He does not react. He does not panic. He is solid as a rock. But an untrained, uncontrolled dog? That’s a different story.
Every single time someone allows their dog to lunge at a service dog, to bark, to act aggressively—it’s not just “an unfortunate incident.” It’s a potential disaster. It puts the dog at risk. It puts the handler at risk. And it’s entirely preventable.
Delta took this seriously. They banned the owner from future flights. From what I was told, they falsely claimed their dog was a service dog—but we all know it was just an ESA (Emotional Support Animal).
And here’s the thing—I’m grateful that Anza and I are okay. But that fear? That helplessness? That moment of pure, gut-wrenching panic? That’s something I’ll never forget.
People need to wake up. If you have a dog, keep it under control. If your dog is not trained for public environments, do not bring them into spaces where they can put working teams at risk.
A guide dog is not a pet. A guide dog is freedom. They are our eyes, our safety, our unwavering partners.
And last night, for two horrifying seconds, I almost lost that.
Wow…
My Thoughts On This Horrific Incident
I write about fake service dogs a lot, but I’ve never considered how an attack against a real service dog could permanently sideline that dog…a massive investment in time and money for those that are properly trained (i.e., a real service dog).
What happened is criminal… absolutely criminal.
I hope that Kouniaris will pursue civil damages against the dog owner and prosecutors might look into criminal charges as well. While I’ve seen no official confirmation from Delta that the passenger was banned, that is also a proper response.
I suppose the dog lovers are going to whine that the dog did not apparently bite…I say baloney. That dog should be destroyed for its unhinged conduct.
CONCLUSION
A fake service dog attacked a real service dog in San Diego. Delta has allegedly responded by banning the owner of the fake dog. Hopefully that dog owner will also face civil and criminal repercussions for his fraudulent conduct.
Airlines need to start demanding meaningful documentation, not the nonsense online forms available for sale. Too many untrained dogs being passed off as service dogs, all to avoid the airline fee. I was on a flight recently where a “trained service dog” walked up to First Class and started begging during meal service. Put its head on a passenger’s knee and stared at her as she ate. Obviously not a trained dog.
It feels like we’re rapidly approaching the days of people bringing service peacocks onboard (remember that one?) again. Honest question, are airlines not allowed to ask for documentation or proof of it being a service animal? Is that some sort of HIPPA violation? Seems a bit out of control in the past few years.
Pets in cabin should only be allowed with a £ 10K deposit. The money is returned after every crew member signs a sworn statement the animal stayed quiet and by owner’s side during entire flight.
Why?
Such BS that it takes an attack for them to figure out it was a “fake” service dog. You would think with the money they are losing by not charging for these fake dogs they would require more than a $29 vest.
Assume they don’t want to offend anyone by questioning them, so this is what they get.
The issue is the airlines cannot ask about the disability. That would infringe on their rights (sarcasm). I was a gate manager and we couldn’t ask. Yes its ridiculous. I say no animals in the cabin unless they are true service animals. They should have a doctors form stating the type of service and then they should have a vet health form showing when and which vaccinations they have had. I feel bad for those who truly need a service dog but, this is how it has become.
Actually by ada law your are allowed to ask 2 questions.
1 is the service dog required because of a disability?
2. What work or task is the dog trained to do?
And yes a service dog will trump someone’s allergies. The only way you can refuse a service dog is if the dog is not well trained, acting aggressively etc. But those instances are truly very rare compared to Esa dogs acting out so to speak.
You cannot ask about specific disabilities or documentation about a disability.
I’m betting corporate is saying don’t ask.
The problem is that no one is enforcing the service dog vs Esa rules. So it’s being allowed and encouraged. I see it all the time in big box stores, and a big public building i work in. I hear dogs all the time acting out. I asked security about it 1 day and was told that they were to look the other way by the counties lawyers. If and when something happens, the law dept would handle it.
Oh. And my wife is a type 1 diabetic and were looking into getting her a service dog as she no longer reacts or feels when she gets too low or high. So I’m a little more versed then the person with a Esa impersonating a true service dog.
She’s one of the people that if you didn’t know what to look for would never guess she has a life altering illness.
ADA doesn’t apply to airlines but rather the ACAA. ADA stops the moment the passenger steps onboard the aircraft.
NAL, but I believe ACAA also allows airlines to ask to physically describe the way a service animal performs a certain task (rather than just asking what functions the animal does for someone).
ACAA allows miniature horses, pigs, and monkeys may be considered service animals, but gives carriers the ability to determine each animal on a case-by-case basis.
I was with you until this absolutely inane comment “I suppose the dog lovers are going to whine that the dog did not apparently bite…I say baloney. That dog should be destroyed for its unhinged conduct.”
I can’t imagine a single dog lover defending this person and their unbelievably selfish behavior so please don’t project your prejudice (and sorry but you have demonstrated some pretty clear anti-dog bias on this blog) on the overwhelming majority of dog lovers who also respect the rules and appropriate boundaries.
Also saying the dog should be destroyed without having any addition context is a total rush to judgement and again, exposes your anti-dog bias. It’s getting tiresome. This was a legitimate story worth sharing but you can’t manage to tell it without getting your digs in.
We are in a period of time in the US where people believe they can do whatever they want and they won’t be penalized for their behavior/actions. Sadly more often than not we see terrible behavior, especially flying, and many get off way too easy.
Correction, that fake service dog AND its owner should both be destroyed for their unhinged conduct.
My thoughts are that anytime anybody brings a fake service or any kind of a dog or an animal, whatever that animal is onto a plane in a confined space, that owner should be held to a much higher standard and that paperwork should be thoroughly checked. The airline is also responsible and should be sued because the airlines employees supposedly checked that paperwork and allowed that animal there. This owner and it’s mangy dog is banned from Delta, but all of the airlines domestic and international, once a person has been banned for a valid reason all airlines should ban that person and that animal altogether to make sure that they should not be allowed to just go to American southwest or any airline, whether domestic or international and cause the same problems again.
I will do whatever I can to protect my service dog, my valid service, dog or anything else from any dog or any other animal brought onto a plane, if I have to kill and attack the animal myself, I will gladly do so to protect the life of my animal. OK
I had a blind aunt that relied all her life on a number of service dogs. Those dogs where her life. She was able to walk to a bus, board the bus and go to work every day. And, yes, she worked! The dog who was off leash and attacked was likely not even an emotional support animal. It might simply have been a dog traveling with a person on the plane for an extra $50 fee and that person let it off leash or it got off leash and out of it’s carrier. Who knows. Thank goodness neither the blind person nor their dog was hurt, but it could have been worse.
As both a dog owner and a spouse of a person with severe cardiac issues requiring an ADA compliant dog; I take tremendous exception to selfish inconsiderate individuals who insist on passing off their foofy poorly behaved PET as a “service dog”.
Can’t wait for the huge civil suit which is not only warranted, but needed to end this nonsense once and for all. Delta and the TSA should also be named in the suit as they have no standard in place to avoid this ongoing, fake service dog issue. I would love it if they stopped allowing dogs in food establishments including grocery stores. Dogs have ZERO place there.
I volunteer at the Guide Dogs for the Blind and work for a major airline. A real service dog has never been a problem.
The fake service or emotional support dogs are out of control!
The airlines are doing their best to crack down . They are able to ask for a doctor’s note, but it seems almost anyone can get one.
I respectfully beg to disagree–the punishment should be directed at the human, not the dog. For the author Mr Klint to suggest the other dog be destroyed is patently ridiculous…the dog did *not* physically harm either dog or human, so it does not meet the requirement of vicious dog. The owner, OTOH, should absolutely be held accountable for dishonesty and straight out stupidity and ineptitude. Lost a lot of credibility with me there, Mr Klint. The dog that can be trained to be as rock solid as Anza can also be overindulged, undertrained, resulting in bad behavior. I rode the shuttle at Mammoth Lakes to some trailhead a few years back…all pups were required to wear a muzzle per the rules, so we dutifully trotted down to the general store and bought three. All dogs (ours and others) on the shuttle were v well behaved, they knew they were “hobbled”.
I am not sure if there is any uniform certification process that can differentiate service dogs from ESA’s. But there needs to be because this has been abused so much that it affects real service dogs and their owners far too much.
It’s about time these BS service animals were banned