[NAGDU] Emotional Support Dog attack on delta.

[Heather Bird]

	Oh my God, where do I start. A. I am changing the subject line to reflect the fact that this was not an attack by a service dog but by a claimed ESA, although it very well could have been just a pet that someone got one of those fake letters from the internet for.

B. No 50 lb dog should be in the lap of its handler. If it is a guide or other sort of service dog whose presence is not required in that close proximity then it needs to be laying down at the feet of the passenger, for its own safety as well as for the comfort of other passengers. If it is a large breed psychiatric service dog or emotional support dog that needs to be in reach of the handler, then it should be seated, on the floor, with its head in the lap of the handler. Even a small breed dog should ideally be on the floor, although a very small dog might be safer in a carrier, if it is a pet or a small breed service dog. Again, in the case of small breed emotional support or psychiatric service dogs, then the dog should be in the lap of the handler, on a very short leash, and not with any part of its body over the arm of the seat to either side of the handler.

C. If the dog growled at him, why on earth didn't that man call the flight attendant immediately and demand to be reseated or to have the obviously aggressive dog thrown off of the aircraft? I do not want to get into victim blaming, because it is a terrible situation, but I'd place about 5 to 10% of the blame on the man who was bitten.

D. What is wrong with the owner of the dog. It is possible that he was not aware that his dog would react in this way, but once it began growling, he should have immediately taken action to be reseated, to leave the plane, to place the dog on the floor, etc.

E. It is absolutely unreasonable to muzzle dogs on a plane, as this restricts their breathing in a situation where they are already subjected to changes in temperature, stress, strong chemical smells and changes in air pressure which licking, yawning and other mouth movements can help allay. The lawyer is an idiot.

F. The man who was bitten, or his lawyer, is a greedy jerk. They are going after Delta, when they need to be sewing the owner of the dog. However, they are going after Delta because Delta has deeper pockets. Stupid greedy jerk is going to ruin everything for service dog handlers, especially for handlers of psychiatric service dogs. Delta should not have and should not dare attempt some policy to require my dog to wear a muzzle or to sit in a specific seat. Never gonna happen, I won't let it. This dog obviously was untrained and poorly socialized and stressed out. It should have never been in the passenger cabin at all. If it was this aggressive, then it could just as easily have bitten the man's legs if it were on the floor, or another passenger sitting in a bulk head row, or someone in the process of boarding or deplaning even if he were in a row by himself with two empty seats. This moronic lawyer is going to mess things up for all of us. Should the owner pay? Absolutely. Should he ever take his dog into a public place again? No. Should the dog be destroyed? Possibly, possibly not. Should this dog ever fly again? Not unless it is crated, under the plane, and probably for its own sake, a mild tranquilizer should be given. But, the lawyer should not be trying to speak to policies and laws that he obviously knows nothing about. Nor should he be trying to put this on the airline who is already paranoid about dogs on their planes.

G. This is just so stupid. It was totally avoidable, and the lawyer and the victim and the dog owner are all to blame in various degrees for the crap that is going to result from this mess. Also, whatever shrink wrote this guy a prescription for an ESA, and or whatever puppy mill owner, pet shop owner, or shelter staff worker mistreated this dog, neglected it, or as the case may be, allowed it to be adopted by someone intending to use it as an ESA when it had known issues. I list all of those because it could be all of those or some combination, or someone entirely different. But, in my experience no well-trained, well socialized dog would just snap like that and do something so extreme unless someone somewhere along the line had done something cruel or neglectful to the dog. I include allowing a dog to get away with bad behaviors as neglectful, BTW.

H. Delta is already one of the worst offenders for access issues related to service dog use. I just want to scream.

I. Please tell me that NAGDU is going to reach out to this lawyer's office and try to explain why the owner of the dog, not the airline is at fault, and how advocating the policies they suggest is detrimental to legitimate service dogs?

Heather Bird
"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." - Martin Niemöller
In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in the face of Human Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such violations.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vivianna via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2017 8:29 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Cc: Vivianna
Subject: [NAGDU] Service dog attack on delta.

Hey, did you folks see this article where a man’s emotional support dog attacked another passenger on a delta flight?
Things like this are just going to make things more and more difficult for us with guides to travel hassle-free.
I hate to say it, but, at this point i feel that only service dogs should have the rights and privileges of being allowed in places like airplanes.

Vivianna

Ala. man on Delta flight injured in attack by passenger's emotional support dog oregonlive.com
 
oregonlive.com
 
An Alabama man who was attacked by a fellow Delta Airlines passenger's emotional support animal has hired a lawyer. Marlin Termaine Jackson was "severely injured" when a passenger’s support dog lunged for his face and bit him prior to takeoff, AL.com reported Thursday. The incident occurred on Jun. 4 on a Delta flight set to leave Atlanta for San Diego.
Jackson's attorney, J. Ross Massey of Alexander Shunnarah & Associates, shared graphic images of the resulting facial injuries Thursday. According to Massey, Jackson's injuries required "immediate" ambulance transport to a nearby emergency room. Following 28 stitches, Jackson is currently awaiting the opinion of a plastic surgeon. Permanent scarring is said to be likely. 
Warning: the images below are graphic.
 
 
delta dog incident
Image via Alexander Shunnarah & Associates
 
An Atlanta Police Department report on the incident obtained by Fox 10 said Jackson was attacked by a dog belonging to North Carolina resident Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. In a statement to Complex Friday, Massey underscored the importance of support and service animals while expressing concern regarding Delta's "compliance" with safety policies. 
 
"It is troubling that an airline would allow a dog of such substantial size to ride in a passenger's lap without a muzzle," Massey said. "Especially considering the dog and its owner were assigned a middle seat despite Delta Air Lines' policies that call for the re-accommodation of larger animals. We expect airlines to follow procedures as required and verify any dogs traveling unrestrained in the open cabin are trained for handling the large crowds and enclosed environments encountered on board an airplane."
 
Jackson's attorney also provided the following account of the incident:
Marlin Jackson of Daphne, Alabama boarded a Delta Air Lines flight traveling from Atlanta to San Diego on Sunday, June 4. Mr. Jackson was assigned a window seat on the left side of the plane. When Mr. Jackson approached his aisle, passenger Ronald Kevin Mundy, Jr. was sitting in the middle seat with his dog in his lap. According to witnesses, the approximately 50-pound dog growled at Mr. Jackson soon after he took his seat. 
 
The dog continued to act in a strange manner as Mr. Jackson attempted to buckle his seatbelt. The growling increased and the dog lunged for Mr. Jackson's face. The dog began biting Mr. Jackson, who could not escape due to his position against the plane's window. The dog was pulled away but broke free from Mr. Mundy’s grasp and attacked Mr. Jackson a second time. The attacks reportedly lasted 30 seconds and resulted in profuse bleeding from severe lacerations to Mr. Jackson's face, including a puncture through the lip and gum. Mr. Jackson's injuries required immediate transport to the Emergency Room via ambulance where he received 28 stitches. He is presently awaiting consultation with a plastic surgeon. 
 
Mr. Mundy was moved to an alternate Delta Air Lines flight and his emotional support dog was placed in a kennel in the undercarriage. 
 
Delta did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
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