[NAGDU] observations from a summer of flying.

[The Pawpower Pack]

Hi y'all, I spent my summer flying around to different places and am noticing some things I thought I'd mention. 
I have a service dog that is always dressed in harness, she is a lab and her gear is clearly marked with patches that say SERVICE DOG. 
1. on my flight with united, they asked if she was an ESA or an sd. They asked her age, weight, and breed. They did NOT ask about task training. They also gave me a raft of static for quote, not telling them ahead of time I was handicapped and had a dog. As I'm not in the habit of telling anyone anything of this nature, I said that informing anyone ahead of time was not required by law as she is not an ESA or a psychdog.
 The united staff member then backup and said it was not the law but it was the nice thing to do.  Well we already know I'm not nice. 
2. Delta asked same question, sd or ESA and then began asking questions about task training, giving me 3 choices. Was my dog a. a guide dog. B. a hearing dog. or c. a wheelchair or balance dog. 
... I guess if you have an alert/response dog in this situation, you write it in, or ... 
I said she provides sound alert work, mobility assistance and guiding. They did not ask anything about breed at Delta. 
I was able to board all flights with no problem, but this 3 ring song and dance did tack about 20 minutes of extra time on to the already crammed airport circus. 
My current SDIT is an amstaff mix, one breeds I believe united has banned in the cabin. *sigh* She does not look too much like an amstaff and I could probably get away with gsd mix, but I think united will be my air carrier of last resort until they stop this breed-banning. 
I am glad to see staff at Delta asking some good questions and have no problem taking the extra time if we can have a reduction in the badly behaved dogs on aircraft. 
Hope everyone had a great summer! I plan to have an airport-free autumn! 

  Rox and the kitchen Bitches: 
Soleil, Rowan pawpower4me at gmail.com