March 11, 2019 • 6 mins
Emotional support animals are a real and useful therapy tool, but not all of them are trained to deal with the crowds and stresses of air travel. Learn what airlines can and can't do to prevent accidents in this episode of BrainStuff.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Lauren vogelbam here the skies aren't always so friendly. A
couple incidents have been reported of large dogs fighting airline
passengers as the number of pets flying as service and
emotional support animals has skyrocketed. According to Delta alone, it
was up a hundred and fifty percent between twenty fifteen
(00:24):
and twenty seventeen. This prompted the airline and others to
enact more stringent requirements for onboard animals. Delta's rules now
say that owners of emotional support animals will be required
to show proof of their pets health or vaccinations at
least forty eight hours before a flight. They also need
to present a statement from their doctor declaring a mental
health disability. Finally, owners must also sign a statement saying
(00:48):
their animal can behave. Emotional support animals occupy a different
category from service animals, which are highly trained to perform specific,
potentially life saving tasks for people living with a disability.
We spoke via email with Beth Zimmerman, founder of Pets
for Patriots, an organization that matches shelter dogs and cats
with veterans. She said Emotional support animals are companion pets,
(01:12):
ordinary house pets that are recommended by an individual's mental
health professional for the alleviation of symptoms of an emotional disability.
Emotional support animals do not have to be task trained
or have any unique training at all. Their mere presence
is assistive. Essays don't even have to be dogs. Snakes,
rats and pigs can be used as e says a
(01:32):
One photo that circulated the Internet recently claimed to picture
an emotional support peacock. Airlines don't have to accommodate unusual
service animals, though, but they do have to provide the
passenger with a written explanation of their reasoning. We also
spoke via email with psychologist Tannisia Ranger, who works mainly
with veterans. She said, the research on the positive impact
(01:54):
that emotional support animals have on people who are struggling
with mental illness is pretty plentiful. They have a calming
of effect lowering stress levels in the owner. They offer
companionship and help to lessen isolation. They offer a sense
of security and protection for those who struggle with PTSD,
and to get a feel for how this works, we
spoke via email with Ashley Jacobs, CEO of Sitting for
(02:15):
a Cause. Jacobs has hereditary hemochromatosis, which requires her to
have regular phlebotomies, to which she always brings her nine
year old Golden retriever Diamond. Jacob said needles are my
biggest fear in the world, so my E s A
comes with me to all my phlebotomies. Having her with
me keeps me from panicking during the procedure. Yet, Jacobs
(02:36):
also said she wouldn't take Diamond with her on a plane.
For one, she doesn't need her dog for traveling. Also quote,
while she is a very well behaved dog, it's hard
to guarantee she wouldn't get a little antsy or anxious
about the new sound, smells, an environment on a plane.
She's also about seventy pounds and takes up a bit
of space. So for the comfort of other passengers and
to avoid giving E s A is a potentially bad
(02:58):
rep I figured it's best to leave her at home.
Unlike service dogs, who are allowed access pretty much everywhere
by federal law, the only legal rights essays have our
reasonable accommodation in no pet housing and the right to
accompany their owners in the cabin of a commercial aircraft
without having to be kept in a container or to
pay a pet transportation fee, which is typically at least
(03:19):
a hundred dollars each way. Many passengers looking to avoid
this fee have started to classify their pets as emotional
support animals. Psychologist Rangers said there's a lot of fraud
out there. A cursory Google search will find you any
number of websites where you can buy letters from clinicians,
tags and vests which may not be legitimate, and when
untrained animals tech innocent bystanders, it further creates stigma for
(03:42):
those who actually need service animals. Christifed Father, operations administrator
for Assistance Dogs International, said individuals with disabilities often have
additional stress as they do not know when they may
encounter a non trained essay dog that may inflict harm
on them and they're trained assistance dog. The general public
is also affected as they cannot determine which assistance dog
(04:03):
team is trained or which ones are non trained ESA dogs.
The jury is still out on exactly what needs to
happen to rectify the issue, but most industry experts agree
that something needs to be done. The air carrier access
Act lists these specific rules regarding service animals and e
says aboard aircraft, and states that airlines may request documentation
(04:23):
for e says, such as the type that Delta requires.
The rules say airlines can determine whether the animal is
truly a service a support animal by quote observing the
behavior of the animal, looking for physical indicators such as harness,
and accepting the credible verbal assurances of an individual with
a disability using the animal. Some nineteen states have laws
(04:44):
prohibiting people from passing off their pets as service animals,
but they're hard to enforce due to rules from the
Americans with Disabilities Act concerning what questions a business owner
may ask about a service animal. For instance, a business
owner cannot ask for documentation or demonstration of a service
dogs training. There's also no registry of service trained animals.
(05:04):
Attorney Aaron Jackson has written about the hostility she encountered
from airline employees and passengers when she traveled with her
es A. She said, Unfortunately, the prevalence of e s
a vest and registry scams desensitizes the public from understanding
the impact and importance of the essays to individuals who
truly need them for therapeutic purposes instead of viewing the
animal as a therapy tool. Fellow travelers may resent other
(05:27):
passengers who are allowed to bring their pet on the plane. However,
note that because e Says don't wear identification, other travelers
may not be able to distinguish between a pet and
an e s A. Today's episode was written by Alia
Hot and produced by Tyler Clang for iHeart Media and
How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of
(05:48):
other topics with unexpected peacocks, visit our home planet, how
stuff works dot com.
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Lauren vogelbam here the skies aren't always so friendly. A
couple incidents have been reported of large dogs fighting airline
passengers as the number of pets flying as service and
emotional support animals has skyrocketed. According to Delta alone, it
was up a hundred and fifty percent between twenty fifteen
(00:24):
and twenty seventeen. This prompted the airline and others to
enact more stringent requirements for onboard animals. Delta's rules now
say that owners of emotional support animals will be required
to show proof of their pets health or vaccinations at
least forty eight hours before a flight. They also need
to present a statement from their doctor declaring a mental
health disability. Finally, owners must also sign a statement saying
(00:48):
their animal can behave. Emotional support animals occupy a different
category from service animals, which are highly trained to perform specific,
potentially life saving tasks for people living with a disability.
We spoke via email with Beth Zimmerman, founder of Pets
for Patriots, an organization that matches shelter dogs and cats
with veterans. She said Emotional support animals are companion pets,
(01:12):
ordinary house pets that are recommended by an individual's mental
health professional for the alleviation of symptoms of an emotional disability.
Emotional support animals do not have to be task trained
or have any unique training at all. Their mere presence
is assistive. Essays don't even have to be dogs. Snakes,
rats and pigs can be used as e says a
(01:32):
One photo that circulated the Internet recently claimed to picture
an emotional support peacock. Airlines don't have to accommodate unusual
service animals, though, but they do have to provide the
passenger with a written explanation of their reasoning. We also
spoke via email with psychologist Tannisia Ranger, who works mainly
with veterans. She said, the research on the positive impact
(01:54):
that emotional support animals have on people who are struggling
with mental illness is pretty plentiful. They have a calming
of effect lowering stress levels in the owner. They offer
companionship and help to lessen isolation. They offer a sense
of security and protection for those who struggle with PTSD,
and to get a feel for how this works, we
spoke via email with Ashley Jacobs, CEO of Sitting for
(02:15):
a Cause. Jacobs has hereditary hemochromatosis, which requires her to
have regular phlebotomies, to which she always brings her nine
year old Golden retriever Diamond. Jacob said needles are my
biggest fear in the world, so my E s A
comes with me to all my phlebotomies. Having her with
me keeps me from panicking during the procedure. Yet, Jacobs
(02:36):
also said she wouldn't take Diamond with her on a plane.
For one, she doesn't need her dog for traveling. Also quote,
while she is a very well behaved dog, it's hard
to guarantee she wouldn't get a little antsy or anxious
about the new sound, smells, an environment on a plane.
She's also about seventy pounds and takes up a bit
of space. So for the comfort of other passengers and
to avoid giving E s A is a potentially bad
(02:58):
rep I figured it's best to leave her at home.
Unlike service dogs, who are allowed access pretty much everywhere
by federal law, the only legal rights essays have our
reasonable accommodation in no pet housing and the right to
accompany their owners in the cabin of a commercial aircraft
without having to be kept in a container or to
pay a pet transportation fee, which is typically at least
(03:19):
a hundred dollars each way. Many passengers looking to avoid
this fee have started to classify their pets as emotional
support animals. Psychologist Rangers said there's a lot of fraud
out there. A cursory Google search will find you any
number of websites where you can buy letters from clinicians,
tags and vests which may not be legitimate, and when
untrained animals tech innocent bystanders, it further creates stigma for
(03:42):
those who actually need service animals. Christifed Father, operations administrator
for Assistance Dogs International, said individuals with disabilities often have
additional stress as they do not know when they may
encounter a non trained essay dog that may inflict harm
on them and they're trained assistance dog. The general public
is also affected as they cannot determine which assistance dog
(04:03):
team is trained or which ones are non trained ESA dogs.
The jury is still out on exactly what needs to
happen to rectify the issue, but most industry experts agree
that something needs to be done. The air carrier access
Act lists these specific rules regarding service animals and e
says aboard aircraft, and states that airlines may request documentation
(04:23):
for e says, such as the type that Delta requires.
The rules say airlines can determine whether the animal is
truly a service a support animal by quote observing the
behavior of the animal, looking for physical indicators such as harness,
and accepting the credible verbal assurances of an individual with
a disability using the animal. Some nineteen states have laws
(04:44):
prohibiting people from passing off their pets as service animals,
but they're hard to enforce due to rules from the
Americans with Disabilities Act concerning what questions a business owner
may ask about a service animal. For instance, a business
owner cannot ask for documentation or demonstration of a service
dogs training. There's also no registry of service trained animals.
(05:04):
Attorney Aaron Jackson has written about the hostility she encountered
from airline employees and passengers when she traveled with her
es A. She said, Unfortunately, the prevalence of e s
a vest and registry scams desensitizes the public from understanding
the impact and importance of the essays to individuals who
truly need them for therapeutic purposes instead of viewing the
animal as a therapy tool. Fellow travelers may resent other
(05:27):
passengers who are allowed to bring their pet on the plane. However,
note that because e Says don't wear identification, other travelers
may not be able to distinguish between a pet and
an e s A. Today's episode was written by Alia
Hot and produced by Tyler Clang for iHeart Media and
How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of
(05:48):
other topics with unexpected peacocks, visit our home planet, how
stuff works dot com.
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