a group of people in an airport

I know some of you are getting tired of my frequent stories about service dogs on commercial airline flights, but I cannot ignore them. Today I want to address a recent incident on a United Airlines flight and discuss whether a dog who can barely even walk can be a bonafide service animal – are “service humans” a thing?

A “Service Human” For A Dog On United Airlines?

I don’t arrive at this discussion with any preconceived notions about this particular incident. But a friend shared the picture above with me along with the following:

Boarding my flight to Dallas and this dog cannot even walk! The owner had to carry it on the plane after it was unable to drag itself down the jetbridge! So now dogs need a “service human” to help them through the airport?!

It is an interesting dilemma, isn’t it? I’d imagine that this dog is a dearly beloved member of the family. I also would not necessarily rule out that it was trained at some point to be a service dog. Furthermore, I also am willing to stipulate that a dog need not be able to walk to perform service (such as barking if an insulin crash occurs).

But isn’t this a bit much? Isn’t this cruel to take a crippled animal on a plane because you cannot be separated from it? If your dog can no longer walk, perhaps it is best to leave it at home?

I am putting this out for discussion…I am willing to listen.

People truly misunderstand my position on dogs, so I want to clarify that here. It’s easy to simply dismiss me as a nosy dog hater, but that is not the case. I love dogs and I recognize what comfort they can bring.

a child lying on a couch with a dog
Augustine with Pablo

I’ll be spending time with a dear greyhound named “Sweetie Pie” today and look back with a deep love for my departed collie “Lassie” and faithful “Pablo” who is pictured above with my son Augustine.

But while I don’t denigrate the comfort that dogs can provide, I do wonder why the US is unique in the world in that dogs enjoy such privileged access onboard airplanes. Being an outlier does not necessarily mean the US gets it wrong, but any time you are an outlier you need to think about why you are one…it might not be because you are just smarter than everyone else…

I won’t gripe that we’ve become a nation of softies, but I do see rampant abuse and I also see dogs on just about every flight now. It was not like this even just a couple of years ago.

I will continue to take an interest in this issue because of the cheapskates and the fraudsters who bring their pets onboard to dodge pet fees or those who think they cannot be separated from their dog in the same way a little child thinks he will die if he doesn’t have an ice cream cone. This ruins it for those who may truly need it…and I don’t want to see that happen, but the onboard menageries are really a little much.

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