GUIDE DOGS
AN EMOTIONAL TOLL
The term “emotional support animal” (ESA) is now familiar
to the general public, thanks in part to highly publicized
airport incidents, such as the case some time ago when
a Florida woman attempted to bring an emotional sup-
-
lines are unfortunately common, the growing popularity
of emotional support animals is not a surprise to me. As
President of the Alumni Association for Guide Dogs for the Blind, I am very
passionate about facilitating and strengthening partnerships between trained
guide dogs and people who are blind or visually impaired. As a guide dog
handler, I am also very familiar with the impactful and often life-changing
-
pendence and inclusion.
Unfortunately, the title “emotional support animal” is losing the respect it
deserves because it’s being abused by people who simply want to travel with
their pets on an airplane or check into a hotel room with their pet, free of
charge. While the average consumer or traveler may think that having their
pet with them always is harmless in today’s pet-loving society, that assumption
has real, and sometimes devastating consequences for individuals with
disabilities ranging from blindness to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Emotional support animals are not required to have any training. A concern
at Guide Dogs for the Blind is that an untrained animal may lash out when
confused or frightened, especially when in an enclosed and crowded bus, train
or aircraft, which can lead to dangerous situations for our clients, their guide
dogs, other bystanders and even the frightened animal itself. If a legitimate
guide dog is attacked by a frightened animal, which is a real scenario we have
work again. With the number of emotional support animals on planes jumping
up 74 percent in 2017, these incidents will likely continue.
There are many extreme personal experiences I could share but I will limit it
to only one. I recently had an unfortunate encounter with an untrained ESA
while shopping at the store with my son. We turned down one of the aisles
walked passed, the dog began barking, growling and lunging uncontrollably.
I quickly requested the woman control her dog just as it began to lose control
of its bowels and made a huge mess all over the woman, the shopping cart
dog was providing to its frantic and embarrassed owner.
To solve this issue, we must acknowl-
legitimate service animals such as
guide dogs, hearing dogs and seizure
accentuated in how these animals react
to humans in everyday life - and
especially in stressful situations like
air travel or other public venues.
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