Southwest Airlines Community

Hi @jls2662. As you may know, we recently updated our Service Animal Policy (select Trained Service Animals in the left hand margin of the page for full details) to align with recent regulatory changes from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). For travel after March 1, Southwest will only accept service dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified person with a disability. We believe these changes improve the overall Safety of travel for our Customers and Employees and are in alignment with federal laws that no longer require airlines to recognize service animals other than service dogs as defined by the DOT.   As a peer-to-peer support forum, we are not equipped to assist you here, but if you have a specific suggestion or concern, I encourage you to Contact Customer Relations.   Thank you,   ... View more

I lost a significant amount of my hearing from an autoimmune disorder. I can't hear soft noises or any higher pitched sounds such as a SMOKE DETECTOR, CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR, POLICE AND AMBULANCE SIRENS, TORNADO SIRENS, RATTLESNAKES, doorbells, kitchen timers, rattlesnakes, and etc... I am blessed with a hearing alert service dog that alerts me upon hearing such important sounds. I have never experienced a fire or CO2 poisoning in my home, but my service dog alerted me to a timber rattlesnake that was within 2 yards of my feet and a tornado siren (when visiting my elderly mother in Oklahoma).   This is the USA.  There are rights for people with disabilities in the USA.  My hearing alert service dog weighs 4.6 pounds and you may believe it is just a pet, but I depend upon my service dog to save my life.  I hope I never have to meet you or sit anywhere near you on a SW flight with my service dog. @LizF wrote: I lost a significant amount of my hearing from an autoimmune disorder. I can't hear soft noises or any higher pitched sounds such as a SMOKE DETECTOR, CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR, POLICE AND AMBULANCE SIRENS, TORNADO SIRENS, RATTLESNAKES, doorbells, kitchen timers, rattlesnakes, and etc... I am blessed with a hearing alert service dog that alerts me upon hearing such important sounds. I have never experienced a fire or CO2 poisoning in my home, but my service dog alerted me to a timber rattlesnake that was within 2 yards of my feet and a tornado siren (when visiting my elderly mother in Oklahoma).   This is the USA.  There are rights for people with disabilities in the USA.  My hearing alert service dog weighs 4.6 pounds and you may believe it is just a pet, but I depend upon my service dog to save my life.  I hope I never have to meet you or sit anywhere near you on a SW flight with my service dog.   Right, but that's not an emotional support animal. That's a real, legitimate service dog who provides true service that is vital to your health, life, and independence. Also, service animals are highly trained. An awful lot of ESAs are not.  ... View more