A “service” dog on my Delta flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City seemed to find economy class just as tedious as the rest of us, spending part of the flight in the aisle rather than at the feet of his human.
Do Genuine Service Animals Get Restless And Start Pacing The Aisle?
On my Delta flight from Chicago O’Hare to Salt Lake City I wrote about yesterday, there was a service dog onboard. At least, I assume it was a service dog, because it was in the cabin and no one seemed particularly bothered by it.
What really caught my attention was the dog’s location.
Rather than remaining at the feet of its human, the dog seemed to prefer the aisle. Not briefly, not accidentally, but as a sort of chosen seat. And every so often, the dog was up and moving around.
Now, I am not a service animal expert. Maybe this is part of advanced training. Perhaps the dog was monitoring cabin service flow, checking whether the lavatory line had formed, or making sure no one in Comfort+ was receiving more pretzels than authorized.
Or maybe, and I am just thinking out loud here, the dog was restless because economy class is hard for dogs too.
Who among us has not wanted to stretch our legs on a long domestic flight? Who among us has not looked at the aisle and thought, “That looks more comfortable than seat 27B”? In that sense, perhaps this dog was not misbehaving at all, but simply expressing what the rest of us were too polite to act on.
Still, I was under the impression that genuine service animals were trained to remain calm, controlled, and out of the aisle unless actively performing a task. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe “light pacing during cruise” is now considered a reasonable accommodation.
I do not blame the dog…he looked very kind. But when a supposed service animal is parked in the aisle and getting up during the flight, it does raise the obvious question: was this really a trained service animal, or just another passenger who found a way around paying the cabin pet fee?
Dogs or any other animals do not belong on airplanes.
Exactly!!
What a dumb question. Do “genuine”ly well raised kids get restless on flights? Do “genuine”ly well raised adult humans get restless on flights? I’ve had several dogs as fellow passengers on flights with me, and, just last week, a cute cat who slept in its carrier the whole time.
No matter how well trained any living, breathing creature is, they can get restless, and *don’t y’all know that already?*
Just so *ungenerous* of you, Mr Klint, that dog wasn’t bothering you and sounds like a far more congenial flight-mate than you sound…..
Sigh. And now we can discuss if this was a *genuine*ly worthy article or if the writer ran out of relevant subjects to write about.
By Wendy’s logic, restless kids and adults should also park themselves on the floor of the aisle…
No.
Your real question is: Is a service dog a dog?
After all you “fake service dog” posts you should know the definition and that service dogs are being trained for several services. Some obvious (seeing eye dog) and other not so obvious (detect low blood sugar, PTSD,).
And depending on their service they will bahave differently.
Even if a dog is trained it can be the first time, a bad day,….
Just stop obsessing OR write your congressmen to put (better) legislation in place
Not normal service dog behavior but owners should consider if the the summer heat makes travel more difficult for everyone. Why subject your valued pet to unnecessary stress?
It had been a little since Matt did a ‘dogs (should not be) on planes’ post. Along with ‘Meal of the Week’ and ‘Kyle’… these are classic!
Have you considered charging all these animals? They seem to be living in your head rent free.
You’re cat person. We get it already.
The owner was in first class and left the service dog in economy
So why didn’t you say something during the flight? To the FA or person who owned the dog?
Rather then all these posts
Because the flight attendants are literally powerless in these situations whereas posting about it can hopefully raise awareness of this problem.
Exactly!
It seems like posting about it is just cheap clickbait content.
Why does Matt obsess about this? It makes him look like a dick.
Your obsession with dogs is quite fascinating. I increasingly get the sense that you’re just not a very happy person. I’d suggest you get a dog but – I wouldn’t wish that on a sweet canine.
LOL. I just find is amusing that so many people flaunt the rules with service dogs…a formally trained service dog would not sit in the aisle and start pacing, full stop.
I don’t disagree at all. Too many people have been abusing the “service dog” loophole for too long. But you do seem a bit fixated on it. And I’m curious – have your “formally trained” kids ever had a meltdown on a flight? Things happen. But I do suggest you spend some time volunteering at your local animal shelter. I think it would be theraputic.
People think I dislike dogs…it’s not the dogs I loathe, it is their humans. That should be obvious to anyone who takes a moment to think about it…
Perhaps it’s a fixation because, as I see it, 98% of every “service dog” on a flight these days is clearly not. It’s getting out of control. Further, it’s so obvious as to be pure comedy. Enough already.
If Matthew’s children do have a meltdown or otherwise act up then he should tan their hides.
A genuine service dog is any dog that any human indicates is a service dog.
Within this large group of dogs you get all kinds of behavior– occasionally exceptionally good behavior, but the average is poor behavior and below average is atrocious. Looking at it broadly, I don’t see any major significant differences in the behavior of a sufficiently large population of regular dogs from that of a similar population of service dogs.
The weirdest thing to me about the whole service dog thing is that dogs that do things like bring their owners slippers to them– here’s a useful service that can be seen and verified, but that doesn’t qualify them as a service dog, not without a doggie vest from Amazon.
Your obsession with dogs on planes is so weird Matt
Maybe you should stop condoning fake service dogs?
The comments here are very revealing. Folks seem to believe that others “obsessions” are weird, dysfunctional, neurotic, etc. Their “obsessions” are, of course, a rational reaction. I’ve been lucky to not have the fake service dog problem affect me. But, let us not forget that any dog on an airplane raises risks for pax in the case of severe turbulence and emergency evacuation. It seems logical we only embrace those extra risks for real service dogs. Oh, and, as some claim the dog defecation accidents can happen to service dogs, too. Yet another readon…
It is time for the FAA to require service animal certifications be processed through physicians approved by the agency, with a penalty of perjury clause in the affidavit as to the detailed explanation of conditions which warrant a service animal, and require passengers to submit the paperwork at least 48 hours before flight. No paperwork, no service animal on the flight. No exceptions.