Traveling with a Service Dog
Belle goes everywhere we go. She works hard when she is with me. You can tell she is protecting me & is always ready to get things for me or alert me of an upcoming pain attack. She is always supportive helping me be the best version of me I can be.
When I said she goes everywhere we do that means she also flies with us. You may have read my other post on flying to Maryland with Belle. This was a much longer flight with more time in the airport and bigger airports.
There are many steps that have to be done in order to fly with your service animal. The requirements and steps vary from airline to airline. We have flown Southwest, Delta, and American with her. So far, southwest is my favorite. American is my least favorite. They have also been not doing great with their service to their customers.
I’m order to fly you have to complete a form from the department of transportation. This form is one page and includes her weight, her breed, her vaccination records, and extra questions confirming she is capable of flying & has to be signed by your vet. It is only good for a year and you have to replace.
When we fly with Belle we always give her trazadone that her vet recommends. The medication does not change her abilities to help & care for me. What it does do is calm her down to all the extra stimuli of a plane and laying on the floor.
This past trip Mike and I flew from Dallas Fort Worth to SFO on American and it was fine for the most part. The first row of seats behind the bulkhead was smaller than the southwest ones so it was a little squeeze but she was happy & did well.
On our way back is where problems began. I made it through bag checking, tsa, and was cleared and told I was all set. We get to the gate agent for her to be shocked that I have a dog. You see when it comes to American you have to call and tell them your service animal (give them the number that was generated for you) will be flying. This allows them to use the seats they have reserved (right behind the bulkhead) so the dog has space. This time, the gate agent was completely uneducated on ANY ADA policies. She asked inappropriate questions along with being incredibly rude.
We ended up being kicked off the plane we were supposed to get on but we’re lucky because there was a flight to Dallas that was supposed to leave hours ago but kept being held up. They sent me and Belle to the more empty Flight. This is 100% appropriate and is in the paperwork. It says that the airline reserves the right to rebook due to the flight being too full. However, I want to go over a few specific things that should not be being asked to you or you don’t have to answer.
There are two Specific Questions allowed to be asked about a service animal. These questions are as in depth of a question that they are allowed to ask due to your service animal and that includes andy and everyone (airport personnel or other).
Is the dog or service animal required because of a disability?
What work or task is the dog or service animal trained to do?
If someone asks you why you need the dog or what illness you have? Questions like these are completely inappropriate and if asked must be addressed in hopes of creating a better environment for others to grow, learn, and understand. We all must work together to help acceptance of those with disabilities to grow and to be more supportive so others know what is expected of them to understand.
