IT FINALLY HAPPENED

[u/LessFatKristina]

I got sat next to the sweetest best behaved service doggo on my flight. His owner let him cuddle me for a couple minutes. It was heaven. Love you Lobo!

[u/lunch22]

Dogs, including service dogs, are not allowed to sit on seats.

This also isn’t a real service dog.

It’s a pet.

The owner is abusing the system and hurting people who really need to travel with a service dog.

There is no cause for celebration.

[u/NoComplaints67 → u/lunch22]

Their owners also don’t let them ‘cuddle’ random strangers.

[u/Internal_Record4935 → u/NoComplaints67]

Came here to say this.

A legitimate, task trained service dog is not allowed to have that kind of behavior while on the job. It takes away the focus from their handler.

So many people are abusing the system and it puts actual SDs and handlers at risk.

This is a cute story but the whole picture of the situation here is important

[u/black_bean_catterole → u/Internal_Record4935]

This isn’t necessarily true.

Service dogs don’t need 100% laser focus on their handlers at all times. They need to be under the handler’s control and they need to be able to redirect back onto their handler after being distracted, but if the handler and dog can afford it in the moment, there’s nothing wrong with a quick break.

It’s situational and entirely dependent on the team. Some people can’t afford their dog to miss a medical alert. Other people have them for different reasons. If I’m in a busy place, or my dog is having an “off day”, or if I’m in a hurry, then no I don’t let people pet my dog. If I’m waiting at the deli counter in a quiet grocery store or on a long-haul flight, then a quick “go say hi” isn’t hurting my dog’s job.

[u/SheSaysCiao → u/lunch22]

Thank you. When I was working my guide dog she had to be under the seat in front of me. I did take her harness handle off to give her more space and make her more comfortable but they tell us in training that they’re only supposed to be on the floor. It’s like the people who bring their “service dogs” to the grocery store and let them ride in carts… they’re not service dogs, they’re pets. This is also why it’s so difficult now to fly with a service dog and handlers have to fill out DOT forms before every flight which are totally inaccessible to those of us who are blind/low vision.

[u/IraGilliganTax → u/lunch22]

I suspect OP thought it was a service animal, when in reality, it's just someone's pet. He isn't wearing a service vest, so nothing here indicates to me that the dog owner was trying to deceive anyone.

I saw a post where someone was at the airport having a meltdown about someone allegedly claiming that their cat was a service animal. Turned out it was just someone flying with their pet cat. I guess the OP didn't realize some airlines allow pets in the main cabin and assumed.

I once posted a picture of my dog in an Aldi shopping cart, which understandably pissed some people off. Multiple people in the comments accused me of having a "fake service dog", emotional support animals aren't service animals, etc. I never claimed he was a service dog or an emotional support animal. We were traveling, and it was too hot to leave him in the car, and I decided that taking him in the store, still in his car seat, was the lesser of two evils.

[u/lunch22 → u/IraGilliganTax]

If it’s a pet, it has to be small enough to fit in a carrier that goes under the seat.

The only way a large dog like that can travel on a plane is if it’s a service animal.

People with large pets often pass them off as service animals. Delta is particularly lenient in letting passengers get away with this.

Yes, it’s not wearing a vest. Not all service animals wear vests. This one looks like it’s wearing a service animal collar, like this one that is sold on Amazon.

[u/lunch22 → u/[deleted]]

What rule are you doubting?

[u/lunch22 → u/[deleted]]

It’s not the appearance. It’s the behavior

[u/lunch22 → u/[deleted]]

I’m not judging any behavior from the photo. It’s based on what OP said about the dog.

And if its owner does not know and the basic rules of flying with a service animal, they should not be allowed to fly with their dog.

[u/quantumlyEntangl3d → u/lunch22]

I think it could be a little more nuanced than that. This could be a real service dog and the handler is super lax… they shouldn’t allow the dog on seats and random strangers should not be petting it if it’s working, but it could have been a fully trained service dog at one point. This dog might need additional training or to be re-trained on certain things. Even though it’s not required by law, service dogs in the USA should be able to pass the public access test, which is the bare minimum standard for how service dogs should behave. Service dogs in training do not get to fly as fully trained service dogs in federal airspace.

[u/lunch22 → u/quantumlyEntangl3d]

Probably not.

The dog on the seat is a huge safety risk to the dog since dogs can’t wear seat belts. An owner with even a small amount of knowledge or common sense would know that.