A United Airlines passenger was fuming after she boarded her flight – only to find that she’d been bumped from her seat for a service dog.

In an explosive post shared to Reddit, the fuming passenger explained that she and her husband got on a recent flight from San Diego to Denver and discovered an ‘enormous’ pooch sitting on her seat. 

‘He was way too big to fit on the floor,’ she explained in the post, which was uploaded to the United Airlines subreddit.

‘The flight attendant was a few rows away and when asked if she saw the dog, she just shrugged,’ the post continued.

In a photo attached, a giant black dog was seen sitting on the middle seat – looking as tall as a human passenger. 

‘My husband and I tried to resolve it with the passenger but there was no way that dog could fit under his legs in his window seat,’ complained the unnamed traveler.

The woman admitted that she was worried, as the flight was completely full.

‘The dog was taking my seat,’ she wrote indignantly. ‘I thought I was going to get bumped off the flight by this dog.’

A United Airlines passenger was fuming after she boarded her flight - only to find that she'd been bumped from her seat for a service dog

A United Airlines passenger was fuming after she boarded her flight – only to find that she’d been bumped from her seat for a service dog 

According to the traveler, a United staff member eventually found her ‘another seat.’ 

‘The dog stayed on my seat for the whole flight. Totally absurd that an oversized dog can displace a paying passenger from their seat,’ she wrote in disbelief.

The passenger called for United to ‘crack down on passengers abusing the “service” animal allowance.’

‘How can someone be allowed onboard with a dog that big without buying an extra seat?’ she questioned.

‘United’s policy is that service dogs “can’t be in the aisle or the floor space of the travelers next to you,”‘ the woman pointed out.

She added that it’s ‘nasty’ to have a dog outside of a carrier sitting on passengers’ seats and sitting on the armrests.

‘The gate agents carefully check the size my carry-on, but apparently they don’t monitor the size of people’s “service” dogs! What the hell?!’ she concluded the post.

Users flooded the comments section, and many shared their own experiences.

According to the traveler, a United staff member eventually found her 'another seat' (stock image)

According to the traveler, a United staff member eventually found her ‘another seat’ (stock image)

She shared her story on Reddit and users flooded the comments section, with many sharing their own experiences

She shared her story on Reddit and users flooded the comments section, with many sharing their own experiences

‘We saw a huge dog at LAX when checking into Polaris. I asked the agent, “How many of these service dogs do you think are actually service dogs?” She said maybe less than one percent. It’s a shame,’ one user wrote.

‘I used to have a service dog. She did (barely) fit under the seat but I believe the rule/law/best practice is that if the dog is too big for that you have to buy an extra seat,’ another shared.

‘They need to overhaul the laws around service animals. Gigantic dogs should not be allowed on planes,’ agreed someone else. 

‘I don’t want to use a seat that a dog sat on,’ a different user complained. 

‘They should provide some type of seat cover and also ask how large of a dog it is during ticket booking to determine whether the dog needs to purchase a seat or not.

‘If the passenger lies and the dog turns out to be bigger at gate check in then the passenger will need to be rescheduled for a later flight.’

The United Airlines website details clear rules for traveling with service animals.

It instructs owners: ‘Your dog should sit in the floor space in front of your seat. They can’t be in the aisle or the floor space of the travelers next to you.

Last week, another traveler faced a similar predicament on a Delta flight; they were downgraded to a 'worse seat' so a service dog

Last week, another traveler faced a similar predicament on a Delta flight; they were downgraded to a ‘worse seat’ so a service dog

‘You can put your service dog in a pet-carrier if you choose, as long as it meets size requirements. You can’t sit in an exit row with a service animal.’

The DailyMail.com has reached out to United Airlines for comment. 

Last week, another traveler faced a similar predicament on a Delta flight. 

‘I got upgraded to first [class] this morning, only to 15 mins later get downgraded (to a [worse] seat than I previously had),’ the unnamed man wrote on Reddit.

‘I asked the desk agent what was going on and she said “something changed.”‘

It was then he saw a dreary-looking dog sitting in what was meant to be his extra legroom bulkhead seat. 

The ‘livid’ passenger went on to claim that he contacted Delta’s customer support and were told by an agent that people ‘may be relocated for service animals’ and ‘there is nothing they can do.’

‘There is no way that dog has spent as much with this airline as I have. What an absolute joke,’ he scathed. 

‘What’s the point of being loyal to this airline anymore, truly. I’ve sat back when others complained about this airline mistreating customers lately and slipping in service levels, but I’m starting to question my allegiance as well.’ 

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