How can THIS be a service dog?! SW animal policy needs to change!

[gatormom]

Flew out of Columbus, Ohio yesterday, back to where I live in Tampa. There were 2 of these dogs on my flight. The second one was brown and even larger than this one. They literally had no service dog designation at all or behaved like service dogs.

The adults literally jumped up to pre-board before people in wheelchairs. This way they could acquire the entire first row of the plane so their "service dogs" could lay down. What the heck is going on with this?!

Get it together Southwest. This is NOT how you retain regular paying passengers. The entire flight passenger list noticed this.

I am assuming they will have a return flight where they will do the exact same thing, or attempt to.

The lady sitting across from them, who was in the wheelchair, had to wear a face mask the entire time as she is allergic to dogs. So disappointed in this policy. Needs to change.

[TheMiddleSeat]

So now we're judging service animals based on how they look just like people who judge preboarders who don't look handicapped?  Just as handicapped individuals do not need to wear anything identifying them as handicapped, service animals do not need to wear anything identifying them as service animals.

As noted on the required form for service animals, "It is a Federal crime to make materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements, entries, or representations knowingly and willfully on this form to secure disability accommodations provided under regulations of the United States Department of Transportation"

Southwest must reply on the form provided and can only ask some questions... "we may ask whether the animal is required to accompany you because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. You may be asked about the nature of the animal at different points throughout the journey. 

You mentioned the dog did not behave like a service animal, but included no specific information as to what your criteria is.  Southwest's policy is:

Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or otherwise tethered to you at all times. They must also be well-groomed, free from odors, etc., and trained to behave and must stay under your control. An animal that poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, disrupts cabin service, or engages in disruptive behavior will be denied boarding. Disruptive behavior includes (but is not limited to): 

• Excessive whining or barking 
• Growling, biting, lunging, scratching
• Urinating or defecating in the cabin or gate area 

As you didn't mention anything specific it's not clear why you think the dog did not behave like you expected it to.

--TheMiddleSeat

[gatormom]

I worked at Southwest Guide Dogs for a number of years. These dogs did not have the required vests. They did not sit or follow directions as guide dogs do. They stood in the aisles and smelled the passengers. NOT guide dogs. Makes me so mad when they impact other passenger's flying experiences.  The lady in the wheelchair had just had surgery and had no choice other than to sit across the aisle from these pets. She was following the rules and these passengers were abusing the rules. I feel for the check-in agents with passengers like this.

[TheMiddleSeat]

@gatormom while the dogs may not have acted or looked like you expected them to, that does not provide anything more than an opinion and is not evidence or proof of your suspicion. Nothing in the Southwest policy indicates any identifying vest is required, so while that may have been a requirement for you and your operation, it does not appear to be a requirement to fly. Yes, perhaps these dogs were just pets, but there is no way anyone who is just observing can determine that. To accurately assess the situation you would have had to ask direct, specific questions and it does not appear you did that.

--TheMiddleSeat

[floridaguy]

You have a blend of issues here.  First, the Air Carrier Access Act allows for those with a self-declared disability to preboard.  On Southwest, that preboarding translates directly into the best choice of seats.

Next, service dogs are allowed.  Again, there are rights and those rights come along with the entire flight experience.

Southwest cannot regulate either other than to throw open seating out the window and start assigning seats, which it will likely not do.  Unassigned seats allow the flights to turnaround quicker and produce a better revenue stream.  However, as you can see, there are other issues.

[gatormom]

I understand the open seating completely and it does work as their business model. I just felt bad for the woman that was literally following the rules as a handicapped passenger. Abusers of policies like these people will eventually mess up the rules for people that truly need them.

[sleeper692]

As a service dog handler that regularly flies Southwest, I can understand your frustration.  My dog was professionally trained, wears a vest that identifies him as a service dog and he is very  well behaved in public.  As nice as this sounds, that alone does not make him a service dog.

The right to public access with a service dog belongs to the person with disabilities, not the dog. That is the first thing you must understand. Just because this person was not in a wheelchair does not mean that they were not disabled. How do you know if the person has invisible disabilities like PTSD or seizures?  You don't. That's none of your business and will be kept between the passenger and the airline.  Don't make assumptions when you do not have all the information.

What makes a service dog? Technically, it must be trained to perform tasks that help that person with their disability.  Those tasks can range from providing tactile pressure or distraction during a PTSD episode to alerting for seizures.  Again, it's not anyone else's business. 

What does the ADA and DOT require as proof that the animal is a service dog?  A statement by the handler that the dog is, in fact, trained to aid with a disability.  That's basically it.  Does it allow someone to cheat the system? Of course. Was this person cheating  the system?  You can't really know.  You just assumed you knew all the information and formed an opinion.  

As someone with a legitimate service dog that helps me with legitimate disabilities, I hate to see fakers even more than you do.  That sort of selfish behavior breeds anger in people like you.  Then when I come along with a legitimate service animal, I catch all the same kind of crap for no reason.  I have ceased to be surprised by how many ignorant people are out there that think they know all about service dogs and the law when they actually know nothing at all.

I have often had people tell me that they can tell my dog is a "real" service dog by the way he behaves in public.  All that really proves is that my dog is well trained (and experienced) but not that he is an actual service dog.  You will just have to take my word for it until Congress passes a law requiring actual standards and certifications.  To achieve that they will have to make major changes to the ADA and you can expect that to be a near impossible task.  Until our society makes such changes, your temper would be best served by educating yourself about service dogs and the law.

[floridaguy]

Sleeper - I agree with you and applaud your factual approach.

What Southwest Airlines has created is an environment where everyone wants to be the first person on the plane to 1.) get the best seat, and 2.) have best choice of overhead bin space.  Southwest has aggravated the situation by creating its own version of "first class" where you get better boarding positions than others.  Then, when those people see others board before them, they feel cheated.

I have said this previously and written to their new CEO to propose the following:

• Southwest remains an open seating airline with no reserved or saved seats.
• Preboard passengers continue to board first according to the Air Carrier Access Act provisions.
• Military and other specially identifiable individuals board next.
• After all of those people board, you board based upon the boarding number.  However, instead of selling assigned seats, you sell based upon the boarding position.  A1 will be priced higher than A60, A60 is higher than B60, etc.  In this manner, you no longer have arguments about who boards first, you pay a certain price for your boarding position and it is GUARANTEED.

Now, yes you are going to have a mad rush for the last boarding positions and probably a gap in-between unless the flight is full.  However, the people who want to be among the first to board simply buy that boarding position.  

There is more revenue that way than the current system.

[tappingmom1]

This:

"As someone with a legitimate service dog that helps me with legitimate disabilities, I hate to see fakers even more than you do.  That sort of selfish behavior breeds anger in people like you.  Then when I come along with a legitimate service animal, I catch all the same kind of crap for no reason.  I have ceased to be surprised by how many ignorant people are out there that think they know all about service dogs and the law when they actually know nothing at all."

Excellent post, @sleeper692 !!

[CupCrusher40]

turtle too