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from the my-emotional-support-is-a-lion dept.
The young, perfectly healthy looking guy ahead of me in Panera Bread walked his fifty lb. dog to the front of the line - I can't tell you the breed since I don't know dogs - and was immediately told that the dog had to go. "Um, I have an anxiety disorder", he replied. The cashier turned around to consult with the manager, but people were still waiting to order, and soon it was conceded that the customer and his service dog/best friend could stay for lunch. And they did.
The Chicago Tribune reports that similar incidents are cropping up on airlines. Passengers dread having their pets locked up in a kennel in the cargo section, and airlines charge hefty fees for the service, so some of them are taking advantage of a legal loophole allowing service dogs of disabled people to ride in the passenger cabin free of charge; but in these cases the disability is "emotional distress" rather than, say, blindness. Many of these passengers pay a licensed therapist for the certificate of need required by airline gate attendants, and for an expensive vest for their "service animals".
From the Tribune story:
"It's definitely gotten carried away to the point where people are taking advantage of the system," [Atlanta flight attendant] Williams said. "It's hard when someone is following protocol and they're not allowed to take the animal out of the cage, but others use the loophole to have an animal sit on their lap."
The story mentions that some fellow passengers and advocates for the (real) disabled are annoyed with the game-playing and lax enforcement. However, others perhaps side with the late Harry Nilsson, who famously sang "I'd take my puppy everywhere, la-la-la I wouldn't care. We'll stay away from crowds, signs that said 'No friends allowed'".
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday November 17 2016, @03:34PM
Okay, now *those* are actual reasons. GP basically said "I have a dog phobia."
I'm allergic to cats, but only the really sheddy ones so far. But there's not really such a thing as support cats I guess :)
I still think the "we lost most of our customers due to a single incident" thing is petty on the part of the customers. Fuck second chances, eh? Never coming back!
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @04:19AM
Okay, now *those* are actual reasons. GP basically said "I have a dog phobia."
And does Francis' comment amount to anything more? He just doubles down with the rabbit phobia. But I did once meet a Wizard whom some call "Tim", and he did warn of rabbits with nasty, biting teeth. Just look at the bones! He'll do you! So, to recap. Cat allergy, real thing. Dog allergy, not so much. Rabbit allergy? Unheard of! Why do you think they torture rabbits with make-up to test it for human use? Because rabbits are hypo-allergenic! Once again, Francis has things he does not know, and not knowing them, thinks he knows other things that are not only unknown, but wrong, false, untrue, and a slander upon on lepusidae everywhere. Be prepared for the further doubling down of the Francis. It is what he does.