Community Chat

[Suziepeach]

Emotional/therapy pets, that's such a slippery slope.  Considering all the trauma we've shared & had in our personal lives, not once did we need anything emotional to pull us through day by day.  We accepted, worked through it and went on..  Easier said than done, nope it was hard, mentally draining work but we prevailed.. (this even includes my past when I was beaten and raped)....  I survived!!!

Disney has changed their animal policy and last trip down, well we saw more dogs in Magic Kingdom than ever- as an example, a teenager brought her dog onto the Haunted Mansion ride & the dog didn't have any vest on plus it was like a Yorkie.  It's so easy for people to obtain (which in my opinion should be stopped) vest and paperwork for pets that are neither service or therapy dogs.. From the grumblings from cast members and other guests, most of the dogs were just brought along on vacation instead of boarding.  

Sorry but things seem to be upside down and the majority doesn't matter, allergies or fear of animals don't mean anything.

[jeanlake]

IS THERE ROOM FOR ME ON THAT SOAP BOX? Faculty person on campus has a therapy (yappy) dog. No leash and no training necessary, but somehow got the 'okay' by HR Dept. When faculty person was promoted to head of her art department, she introduced her therapy dog to the Dean of the division and dog began showing up on campus. New stressful responsibilities and all... Also, she's 50 years old and her dad died two years ago. Still intensely grieving. Sorry. Her story gets old. I met therapy dog when I was in the stall in the women's restroom. I had sandals on and it slid under the stall and kept licking my feet. I was indisposed at the time. The owner screamed when it went missing and she shook the door trying to get into my stall. I told her - relax. Knock it off. I'll be out in a minute. Our entire division is annoyed by this. Students in her class have allergies but faculty person doesn't care. Because dog eases HER anxiety. This is my only experience with a therapy pet situation and as you can see, it's not positive. I'm sure there are more positive situations out there.     

[151949]

We were seated at an outdoor restaurant here in Fl. and to my left was a dog and to my rt was a dog. The one to the left was snarling and showing his teeth toward the one to my rt. The one to my rt had his fur raised and his teeth bared. I told the woman to the left that if her dog decided to jump over me to that other dog & I got bit or scratched I would call the police. She traded seats with her husband so her & the dog were on the other side of the table. Problem solved.WHY oh why wouldn't she have done that before I had to threaten her, instead of sitting there letting the situation escalate?

[QVCkitty1]

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@cherrywrote:

I like kids, some parent not so much, I like animals ,but some of them ,not so much too

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@cherry, The voice of reason. 👏👏

[KingstonsMom]

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@SXMGirlwrote:

I read an article about the young child that was recently bitten by a therapy dog on the plane.  I have no idea if the dog was wearing anything that identified it as a therapy dog, but according to the article, both the parents and the child were told not to approach the dog.  Children do not always understand that a therapy dog is not there to play, and it is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children.  Unfortunately, not everyone follows the basic rules.  More than likely, the parents will file a lawsuit and the airline will settle.

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@SXMGirl

I agree!

In this case the responsibility lies with the parents, they should have been watching their child, especially after being warned by the owner not to approach the dog.

Emotional support animals don't wear vests, etc. like therapy animals do.

To be certified as a 'therapy' animal, it has to pass rigorous training and temperament tests before they can receive the 'therapy' certification.

With 'emotional support' animals it usually only requires a Dr.'s note, no training/testing required.

[chlema]

@Its Me LuLuBelle2 How would you feel if there were an ox sitting next to you lol.  A few months ago there was a proposal in a city in my state to allow their residents to have emotional therapy pets no matter what kind - and the list went from an ox on down.  Yes, I said an ox!  The only qualification was that the animal had to be domesticated.  Haven't seen any more about it so don't know if it passed or not.  Gee, I always wanted my own ox 

[vsm]

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@chrystaltreewrote:

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@Abrowneyegirlwrote:

@chrystaltree

I truly wonder who is paying the damages.  If the airline is you can rest assured they are passing the $$$ on to the customers.

Being that there is a story a week about someone getting bit the non-disclosure piece is a little loose.

The cat allergy is a huge consideration!!

I love cats but have a terrible allergy to cat saliva and dander.  Breathing becomes a problem. :/

I think they are pretty safe with non disclosures, these are not scandal cases.  Victims don't want to sell their stories and no one would buy them anyway.   They are people who suffer an injury and the airlines compensate them quite nicely for their pain, anguish and medical expenses.  The cat allergy thing concerns me because I know 2 women who have severe allergies to cat dander, they are sisters.  It's not uncommon and I always wonder what would happen if either of them was on a plane with a cat.  It's a life threatening allergy for them.  

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@chrystaltree  If the airlines are in fact compensating the victims, then we're compensating the airlines. There's no such thing as a "free" ride, and everyone who brings a so-called "therapy" animal (I'm not talking about certified service animals) on a plane should have to pay into an insurance fund for the privilege. There's no reason why the rest of us should have to foot the bill.

[GCR18]

I've seen dogs in the airport, but not on the planes I've been on.  I totally understand the need for a service dog.  A therapy pet, not so much.  I would bet if the person had to buy the pet a seat, there would be few therapy pets.  How did people cope twenty years ago without their therapy pet?

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Abrowneyegirlwrote:

I have noticed a trend lately of reports of people taking their 'therapy' pets on planes.  If you declare the animal is a therapy pet the animal can travel with the owner thus avoiding the normal animal transport fees.

There has been a HUGE rise in reports/ complaints of fellow passengers being bit or injured by the animals.  (I am sure the animals are stressed and upset)   

I propose that if you are taking a therapy animal on a plane the airline should demand- in addition to current vet records of vaccines that the owners must have proof of LIABILITY INSURANCE to cover any incidents involving the animal.

This rant EXCLUDES Service dogs of course!!!  There is a HUGE difference between therapy pets and service dogs.

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@Abrowneyegirl

Sorry if this was already mentioned and I missed it .... but what prompted this rant?  Were you bitten by a therapy pet?

[151949]

On the next street over from ours there are farmettes. One has a bull. That dang animal gets out all the time and makes a bee line to our lake where he drinks water and poops in people's yards.The neighbors think that because I grew up on a farm I should just go over and grab him and take him home.Clearly they know NOTHING about bulls. A neighbor chased him with her broom, he turned on her and she was lucky to get in the door before he got to her. Apparently hurricane proof glass is also bull proof. I usually just call 911 and they send someone to get him.They lasso him and drag him home. I assume it is the owner.