[nagdu] Passenger with pig boards flight at Bradley InternationalAirport, only to learn it couldn't fly

Sat Nov 29 14:36:00 UTC 2014

Okay folks, it's stupid question time...

If a person has a mental or emotional condition so serious that an emotional 
support animal is necessary, why then would the person choose a pig?  She 
has to know that a pig is going to cause people to ask a lot of questions 
and create drama where ever she goes.

Julie

-----Original Message----- 
From: Ginger Kutsch via nagdu
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2014 8:21 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] Passenger with pig boards flight at Bradley 
InternationalAirport, only to learn it couldn't fly

Passenger with pig boards flight at Bradley International Airport, only to
learn it couldn't fly

By  Dwight B. Shepard | dshepard at repub.com

November 28, 2014

Source:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/11/passenger_with_pig_boards_fli
g.html

You've heard the expression, "when pigs fly" haven't you?

It's is an adynaton, or, a figure of speech, if you will, so hyperbolic that
it describes an impossibility. It's used for humorously, when someone wants
to make fun of over-ambition.

But a passenger at Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks,
Connecticut, wasn't kidding when she boarded a US Airways flight with a pig
in tow.

Jonathan Skolnik, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
told ABC News he thought the woman with the pig was carrying a duffel bag
when she got on the plane.

Skolnick, a passenger on the plane, became quite concerned when the woman,
and her pig, headed straight for the empty seat next to him.

"But it turns out it wasn't a duffel bag. We could smell it and it was a pig
on a leash," he told ABC. "She tethered it to the arm rest next to me and
started to deal with her stuff, but the pig was walking back and forth."

"I was terrified, because I was thinking I'm gonna be on the plane with the
pig," Snolnik added, saying he guesses the pig weighed between 50 and 70
pounds.

Another passenger on the flight commented on ABC's website, "This was the
most surreal flying experience of my life. How are animals of this size
allowed in a passenger compartment of an airplane? This should not be
permitted."

According to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, the woman had the pig as an
emotional support animal, but was asked to leave the plane after it became
disruptive.

The Department of Transportation has certain guidelines concerning animals,
including pigs, monkeys and miniature horses, that can be taken on flights
if they are determined to be needed as emotional support for a person. TSA
officials are supposed to determine whether the animal is permitted on the
plane by running through a list of guidelines, the newsaper reported.

"Pigs are favored service animals for people allergic to dogs," the Daily
Mail wrote. "Guidelines suggest they are intelligent companions and attuned
to dangerous situations."

According to a 2012 CNCNews.com report, airlines must let passengers fly
with pigs if they are for such emotional support. The department published a
manual in July of that year designed to "help carriers and indirect carriers
and their employees/contractors that provide services or facilities to
passengers with disabilities, assist those passengers in accordance with"
the Air Carrier Access Act.

Here is a scenario described in the manual.

"A passenger arrives at the gate accompanied by a pot-bellied pig. She
claims that the pot-bellied pig is her service animal. What should you do?"

"Generally, you must permit a passenger with a disability to be accompanied
by a service animal," reads the manual. "However, if you have a reasonable
basis for questioning whether the animal is a service animal, you may ask
for some verification."

The manual instructs airline carriers and their employees to begin by asking
questions about the animal's training and what service it performs for the
individual.

"If you are not satisfied with the credibility of the answers to these
questions or if the service animal is an emotional support or psychiatric
service animal, you may request further verification," the guidebook states.
"You should also call a CRO [Complaints Resolution Official] if there is any
further doubt as to whether the pot-bellied pig is the passenger's service
animal."

If the answers are satisfactory, pigs, which can weigh as much as 300
pounds, must be accepted aboard the plane.

"Finally, if you determine that the pot-bellied pig is a service animal, you
must permit the service animal to accompany the passenger to her seat
provided the animal does not obstruct the aisle or present any safety issues
and the animal is behaving appropriately in a public setting," the manual
states.

So, I guess, some pigs can fly.

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estep11

estep11

13 minutes ago

This won't be an FAA issue as soon as they sit the swine next to muslim
passengers.

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finsup

finsup

25 minutes ago

I';m confused.  Where was the plane taking off from?  Did the plane leave
with the pig on it, when was she asked to leave the plane?.  I thought they
lived in Florida? How did the pig get to Bradley?  HELP

FlagShare

LikeReply

Tony

Tony

51 minutes ago

Ridiculous  how dumb can people and government  get!!!!!!!!

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MASS INERT

MASS INERT

1 hour ago

The Department of Transportation has certain guidelines concerning animals,
including pigs, monkeys and miniature horses, that can be taken on flights
if they are determined to be needed as emotional support for a person.

Miniature Horses? Seriously?

These "service animals" need to have papers-license-validating
documentation.

Right now there's no licensing needed, someone just has to state they have a
service animal.

If these animals can be brought on planes they can be brought anywhere else
too as so called service animals.

Retail stores, restaurants.....miniature horse in a china shop....

Airlines should have special areas for passengers with service animals -
somewhere in the luggage compartment.....Did she buy her pig a ticket?

FlagShare

1Holyoke55LikeReply

beaver6453

beaver6453

1 hour ago

Need more drop down boxes on Orbitz.

- Number of Adults

-Window or Aisle

-Canine, Feline, Porcine

FlagShare

2MASS INERTHolyoke55LikeReply

gridirons

gridirons

2 hours ago

The dumbing down of America by some stinks. Can the pig fit in the rest room
? Maybe on future flights they'll serve ham and eggs.

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LikeReply

beaver6453

beaver6453

2 hours ago

In case of emergency, I'd rather have the pig seated in the exit row than
some of the folks on flights I'm on.

FlagShare

2MASS INERTHolyoke55LikeReply

Holyoke55

Holyoke55

3 hours ago

"...airlines must let passengers fly with pigs if they are for such
emotional support"

LMAO.

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LikeReply

oat123

oat123

9 hours ago

That woman is a regular ham isn't she.

FlagShare

2Holyoke55nufbsLikeReply

Holyoke55

Holyoke55

3 hours ago

@oat123

HA HA HA.

FlagShare

LikeReply

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