Only Dogs as Service Animals on Planes

[financeguy]

Not sure where to put this but since the topic of accommodations has come up a few times here with this related topic I thought I'd mention that the Department of Transportation has just decided that only dogs will be allowed to fly on planes as service animals. This means that those with an emotional support iguana, potbelly pig or snake will have to cart them and pay shipping fees to the airline.

This just happened and in no way from what I can see thus far is the DOT addressing the validity of actual conditions requiring a service animal to begin with (assistance with blindness and emotional support after cancelation of favorite Netflix series apparently still have same validity) but at least this signals a shift in the direction away from an "anything goes" policy allowing hundreds of passengers to be inconvenienced (or even potentially endangered) for someone's fabricated nonsense issue. 

[financeguy]

Correction to my above statement: Only "trained dogs" are service animals. Emotional support animals are no longer "service animals." Initial article was from a Non-US site and used slightly different terminology...

[jimbogumbo]

Seems pretty narrow. What about the service monkeys for people with spinal cord injuries?

[Vkw10]

Seems pretty narrow. What about the service monkeys for people with spinal cord injuries?

The official announcement is at https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-announces-final-rule-traveling-air-service-animals.

Page 27 of the pdf addresses the question of species.

[Hibush]

What is the policy at your school on emotional-support animals during emotionally taxing exams? Will the DOT decision influence the school policy?

[apl68]

They don't technically ban "emotional support" animals--airlines can still choose to allow them.  But they don't require them to do so now.  Wonder if any airlines will continue to allow them without a federal mandate?

I'm curious as to what a "psychiatric service" animal, which is still allowed, would be, if it's not an "emotional support" animal. 

A niece of mine works for an agency that places service animals.  The process they go through evidently provides plenty of documentation that people with legitimate service animals can show the DOT for the DOT's paperwork purposes.

[apl68]

What is the policy at your school on emotional-support animals during emotionally taxing exams? Will the DOT decision influence the school policy?

Not a school here, but public libraries in some cities have had trouble with this.  They have to deal with patrons who want to bring their "emotional support" animals, AND with people with allergies who go hysterical at the mere thought of a fur-bearing animal using the same public space as themselves.  I've heard stories of libraries allowing in an "emotional support" animal, and then having to vacuum the whole building to suit some animal-phobe. 

It makes me glad to work in a rural area where we see less of this sort of snowflakey behavior.

[smallcleanrat]

They don't technically ban "emotional support" animals--airlines can still choose to allow them.  But they don't require them to do so now.  Wonder if any airlines will continue to allow them without a federal mandate?

I'm curious as to what a "psychiatric service" animal, which is still allowed, would be, if it's not an "emotional support" animal. 

A niece of mine works for an agency that places service animals.  The process they go through evidently provides plenty of documentation that people with legitimate service animals can show the DOT for the DOT's paperwork purposes.

Psychiatric service animals can provide "emotional support" as part of their function, but the major difference from ESAs is that they go through extensive training (just as a guide dog or a seizure alert dog would). So at baseline they can generally be trusted to be good canine citizens (i.e. no yapping, aggression, or relieving themselves in inappropriate places). They are also trained for their specific service tasks.

Examples I've heard about, off the top of my head:

1) Interfere with self-injurious behavior (e.g. repetitive behavior like hitting oneself in the head)
2) Help to ground someone to ward off a panic attack or reduce dissociation
3) Help keep their person safe (e.g. if someone is dissociating or hallucinating and in danger of walking into traffic)
4) Alert other people (like a family member) in an emergency situation so their person can be helped
5) Balance assistance in the case of dizziness or faintness

[marshwiggle]

What is the policy at your school on emotional-support animals during emotionally taxing exams? Will the DOT decision influence the school policy?

Not a school here, but public libraries in some cities have had trouble with this.  They have to deal with patrons who want to bring their "emotional support" animals, AND with people with allergies who go hysterical at the mere thought of a fur-bearing animal using the same public space as themselves.  I've heard stories of libraries allowing in an "emotional support" animal, and then having to vacuum the whole building to suit some animal-phobe.

It makes me glad to work in a rural area where we see less of this sort of snowflakey behavior.

Given how other allergies work, it seems to me there may be some people with pet hair allergies that are much more severe than others, in which case the dueling needs of the two patrons would be of equal gravity.

[Puget]

What is the policy at your school on emotional-support animals during emotionally taxing exams? Will the DOT decision influence the school policy?

We just covered this in our OEO training (about the only new thing I learned in 1.5 hours of zoom lecture)-- service animals are allowed anywhere their human goes on campus, whereas emotional support animals are allowed in the dorms under fair housing laws, but not in class unless the student has a specific accommodation from student accessibility services that is included in their letter and deemed reasonable.

I've never personally had a student bring an emotional support animal to class, but some colleagues have and it does cause problems when other students are allergic or phobic.

Psychiatric service animals can provide "emotional support" as part of their function, but the major difference from ESAs is that they go through extensive training (just as a guide dog or a seizure alert dog would). So at baseline they can generally be trusted to be good canine citizens (i.e. no yapping, aggression, or relieving themselves in inappropriate places). They are also trained for their specific service tasks.

Yes, the bolded part is the key legal distinction, and the one question you are allowed to ask ("Is the animal trained to perform a specific service task for you?").

I believe one of the most common psychiatric service dog tasks is for combat-related PTSD where the person has a hard time being places where they could potentially be ambushed, the dog is trained to literally watch their back, go around corners ahead of them to assure them it is safe, etc.

[pigou]

I've seen a miniature horse at an airport and I object to this ruling purely on grounds that I want to see more of them.

[apl68]

They don't technically ban "emotional support" animals--airlines can still choose to allow them.  But they don't require them to do so now.  Wonder if any airlines will continue to allow them without a federal mandate?

I'm curious as to what a "psychiatric service" animal, which is still allowed, would be, if it's not an "emotional support" animal. 

A niece of mine works for an agency that places service animals.  The process they go through evidently provides plenty of documentation that people with legitimate service animals can show the DOT for the DOT's paperwork purposes.

Psychiatric service animals can provide "emotional support" as part of their function, but the major difference from ESAs is that they go through extensive training (just as a guide dog or a seizure alert dog would). So at baseline they can generally be trusted to be good canine citizens (i.e. no yapping, aggression, or relieving themselves in inappropriate places). They are also trained for their specific service tasks.

Examples I've heard about, off the top of my head:

1) Interfere with self-injurious behavior (e.g. repetitive behavior like hitting oneself in the head)
2) Help to ground someone to ward off a panic attack or reduce dissociation
3) Help keep their person safe (e.g. if someone is dissociating or hallucinating and in danger of walking into traffic)
4) Alert other people (like a family member) in an emergency situation so their person can be helped
5) Balance assistance in the case of dizziness or faintness

Thank you for this.  I suppose an example would be a local woman who experiences occasional seizures as a result of a PTSD issue.  Her family got her a dog last year who is trained to alert others if she starts manifesting symptoms.  The dog can even operate a switch if they're home alone that sends out a remote alert to summon help. 

It's pretty amazing what some of these legitimate support animals can be trained to do.  And no surprise that they are usually dogs.  Dogs observe "their" people very carefully.  There's a reason why your dog sometimes seems able to read your mind.

[mamselle]

What about a baby rhino?

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKPbSv3k5ew

:--}

M.