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Lady102

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Hello,
I wanted to ask a question to the students living in Ross University about how they took their pets and the airlines they used. I have a 40 pound husky and if I get into veterinary school I want to know my options on how to take her. Has anyone had experience with this? Especially taking a large breed in the cabin. Since she is a husky I’m worried about her going under the plane and overheating, so that’s not an option. Is there any way or airline that might accept her on top with me? What are your experiences with this problem? Thank you in advance for all your help.

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Hello,
I wanted to ask a question to the students living in Ross University about how they took their pets and the airlines they used. I have a 40 pound husky and if I get into veterinary school I want to know my options on how to take her. Has anyone had experience with this? Especially taking a large breed in the cabin. Since she is a husky I’m worried about her going under the plane and overheating, so that’s not an option. Is there any way or airline that might accept her on top with me? What are your experiences with this problem? Thank you in advance for all your help.
I know there are some airlines where certain luggage compartments are pressurized and climate controlled just in case flying in the cabin doesn't work out. Usually, you still have to have the aisles clear and near your feet cleared for take off/landing in case of emergency. I don't know if she will fit under the seat in front of you completely.
 
Even if theoretically a dog will fit between your legs or "under the seat" in front of you without a carrier, is that allowed or is it only for registered service animals?
 
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I know there are some airlines where certain luggage compartments are pressurized and climate controlled just in case flying in the cabin doesn't work out. Usually, you still have to have the aisles clear and near your feet cleared for take off/landing in case of emergency. I don't know if she will fit under the seat in front of you completely.
I will keep it in mind, just in case it doesn’t work out. I had done some research and they said maybe if they fit in front of you, she’s a 40-50 pound dog, so she will Fit but uncomfortably, i dont know how still I’ll be able to keep her. Thank you for telling me about the climate control compartments I’ll look into it as well. Thank you!!
 
Even if theoretically a dog will fit between your legs or "under the seat" in front of you without a carrier, is that allowed or is it only for registered service animals?
I wondered that too, I read that for service animals they can be in the cabin cause they are needed for the owner. But they are cracking down on emotional support animals So many airlines arent letting them go on the cabin now, unless you’ve been diagnosed with something from a doctor and provide many papers. I’m trying to get mines to be an esa and have her get good canine citizenship just in case as I’m sure it increases their chances on going in cabin.
 
I wondered that too, I read that for service animals they can be in the cabin cause they are needed for the owner. But they are cracking down on emotional support animals So many airlines arent letting them go on the cabin now, unless you’ve been diagnosed with something from a doctor and provide many papers. I’m trying to get mines to be an esa and have her get good canine citizenship just in case as I’m sure it increases their chances on going in cabin.
If you do not legitimately need an ESA please do not do this. There are people with legitimate emotional and psychological conditions who rely on their animals to help them. The reason airlines are cracking down is because of people who do not need them, or who train them poorly, abusing the system.

I will also add that both of my dogs are canine good citizens, and neither is well trained enough for me to trust them on an plane. Even though my spouse has a condition that could be helped by a ESA, we never use them that way because we have not trained them to an appropriate level. If you have legitimate need for an ESA and plan on taking your dog with you places, please train it to the same standard as other working dogs.

If you are very concerned look into airlines with climate controlled cabins or invest in a climate controlled kennel. You can also try to time your flights for optimal weather - many deaths are attributable to being waiting in holding areas or on the tarmac too long. Last time I flew with my pet under the cabin was to/from Chicago in the winter - we made sure we picked days where the weather was supposed to be warmer, not snowing/raining, and with take off/landing in Chicago during the middle of the day when it would be the warmest. They were not the most convenient or cheap flights for us humans, but they were the best choice for our dog.

If you really don't want them under a plane, you can also look into chartered transport (it will be expensive) - you can sail or take a small private plane. I don't know what private companies standards are for animals, so you would need to do the legwork and call around.
 
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I strongly believe ESA's shouldn't be allowed anywhere until they are put through the same strenuous training and programs that other service animals are put through. Not just an owner training their pet. The vast majority of people haven't a clue on how to train a dog to be comfortable in all situations and not all dogs can be. It isn't fair to force your dog into a situation it basically needs its own ESA for just because you want your pet to be with you.

Basically this bull**** of just training whatever dog you have as a pet into an "ESA" has to stop. They need purpose bred animals as ESA's that get assigned to the person with say PTSD similar to the guide dogs for the blind programs.
 
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I took both of my dogs overseas to the UK for vet school. They were both mixed breeds of a medium size. Do your research on pet shipping companies and the services they offer. It can be expensive. I did everything myself because I am cheap. I bought cargo space about 2 months before I flew and the appropriate sized international flight accepted crates. You can also rent crates from the airlines. I trained my dogs to get used to their crates as much as possible. I outfitted mine with the biggest water bowls I could and used two per crate. One of my dogs was aggressive so I had a reason to make sure no one opened the crate during transport to check on her. I broke up my flight to the UK into two flights. Both left at night when the temperatures would be cooling off and they could spend the least amount of time in a crate. I flew Chicago to NJ, spent the night there and then the next afternoon NJ to Glasgow. I made sure the hotel knew I had two dogs in crates and would need assistance. One of my dogs was 9 and the other 6. I had all of my paperwork in order and travelled with copies just in case. The receiving country are the guidelines to need to research and the requirements of the airline. You will need to know what tests, microchip, vaccinations and health certificate you will need. I flew United and they were amazing, this was shortly after several brachycephalic dogs dies during transport. The people that actually handle to the animals were extremely nice and explained everything. I watched both of my dogs be loaded onto the planes, pick a window seat not he side of the plane where they will be loaded into cargo. If there is a live anything in cargo the cargo area is pressurised and kept at a constant temp I think like 55-60 degrees. Cargo is the safest for animals traveling. I was a nervous wreck and if my dogs were with me by my seat, they would have picked up on that and been miserable as well. As much as you think you are a reassuring force with your animal, you will find out in school that when the owners aren't there, animals are okay. For almost all international flights regardless of your animal being a service animal or not, it's probably too big. Does the dog really need to come with you? Is taking a Husky to the Caribbean the best idea? If you have to evacuate in the event of a hurricane is your dog gonna be able to come with you? What about getting settled first and bringing your dog over at a better time of year?
 
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Even though my spouse has a condition that could be helped by a ESA, we never use them that way because we have not trained them to an appropriate level. If you have legitimate need for an ESA and plan on taking your dog with you places, please train it to the same standard as other working dogs.

I think this is where people get confused. An ESA is literally just a pet. There’s nothing special about that animal. It just means that animal is owned by someone whose doctor or mental health professional says that person’s mental health would be helped by having an animal. So the animal doesn’t have to be trained any more than anyone else’s pet.

To accommodate the person with a mental health disability whose life would be enhanced by a pet, there are laws that make it so that these people cannot be discriminated against when it comes to housing or travel. Essentially being prescribed an ESA means that owning these pets = reasonable accommodation for the person, so landlords must permit them and airlines must permit their travel. They do not have any other rights compared to any other pet. You cannot take them anywhere that any other pets would not be allowed.

That is all honky dory, but these laws weren’t well thought through though...and that’s where these unintended consequences come in. What I don’t understand is why the rule came to be that these animals must be allowed to travel in the cabin. I can understand if they must be allowed to fly, but why not cargo as the acceptable standard of flight like it is for all other animals? Traveling in cabin permitted only if the animal fits the same criteria as any other animal. There’s nothing about the ESA paperwork that says that the person has a disability such that they require emotional support in the form of an animal to fly on a plane... That is totally not the reason why a vast majority of people get rx’d an ESA. But people abuse the system to make it seem that way, and thus demand the animal not stay in their crates in the cabin so they can snuggle them, etc... If a person truly has mental health issues such that they cannot fly without the support of an animal in their lap, I think there should be a specific service animal for that. And that animal needs to be trained and fit for the job.
 
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I think this is where people get confused. An ESA is literally just a pet. There’s nothing special about that animal. It just means that animal is owned by someone whose doctor or mental health professional says that person’s mental health would be helped by having an animal. So the animal doesn’t have to be trained any more than anyone else’s pet.

Sorry I wasn't more clear. I meant for airline travel.

ESA's are legally allowed in airplane cabins per federal law as long as they "behave properly." That's what I was trying to get at - if you can't guarantee your dog will lay calmly at your feet or in your lap during an airplane ride, you shouldn't be taking them on a plane with you. To me that pretty much means service dog level training because they need to be non-reactive to pretty much everything, including in a very stressful environment.

You can't just take an ESA who lives as a standard pet that does standard pet things and expect them to not be disruptive on a plane or in an airport. You can't even really expect a well-trained pet an do that.

My canine good citizens are pretty solid dogs overall, but I think an airplane would be a challenge for them unless we found a way to practice similar situations a lot to get them comfortable (tight quarters, lots of people and commotion, etc). I wouldn't feel comfortable saying "Oh yeah, they're definitely going to be fine and 0% disruptive during their entire airport / flight experience." And an airplane take off/landing would probably scare their little puppy pants off.
 
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Actually, legally, ESAs don't fall under any regulation. There's no rule/law stating they must be allowed anywhere, including planes.
 
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Actually, legally, ESAs don't fall under any regulation. There's no rule/law stating they must be allowed anywhere, including planes.

They currently fall under the Air Carrier Access Act - airlines are required to provide accommodation for emotional support animals as long as the passenger provides documentation from a medical provider.

ETA: there are rules in the works to change this and limit planes to service animals only, but I don't think they've come to fruition.
 
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Also, the federal Fair Housing Act. I think most states have specific laws/ordinances that reinforce that ESAs do count as much as service animals when it comes to being reasonable accommodations for disabilities under this law. As in, they are allowed in buildings that stipulate a “no pets” policy.
 
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To me that pretty much means service dog level training because they need to be non-reactive to pretty much everything, including in a very stressful environment.

if only the general population felt that way...

Also imho these animals should be hygienic... the matted in dreads Lhasas with poop caked in wearing a “service animal” vest... not so much
 
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This convo reminds me of the crazy dog I saw at the dog park today that had on an ESA vest. Literally the worst behaved creature running around off leash :D
 
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This convo reminds me of the crazy dog I saw at the dog park today that had on an ESA vest. Literally the worst behaved creature running around off leash :D

Like the dog on the subway with a service animal vest that kept licking my knee... would.not.stop.
 
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Lol @SARdoghandler has a great tale of the time she took her doggo in the plane cabin I think she’s too traumatized to ever try it again
 
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I saw a “ESA” animal with a emotional dog vest and basket muzzle on. Another different “ESA” that literally bit my pants when I was walking and shopping in a Target store. That one also had emotional dog vest on too. So stupid.
 
I would call the airlines you would fly with. See what they require.
 
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Lol @SARdoghandler has a great tale of the time she took her doggo in the plane cabin I think she’s too traumatized to ever try it again

We do not speak of this time. It was the darkest hour.

(And for clarity, my dog is a search and rescue k9 which is allowed to fly in cabin with certain airlines. She is trained to very high standards, and can be trusted to be non disruptive on a flight)
 
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I flew with my Westie a lot, but he was little and we paid the normal fees for a pet in cabin, so I’m not much help in regards to a bigger dog.

The fees are dumb though...$125 each way for him to be in space I was already paying to occupy and where I could have put a bag containing literally anything else (uh, anything allowed on a plane, anyway) for free. Unless people saw me board with him, they never even knew he was there until I pulled his carrier out as we were getting off the plane. They were always shocked because he was so quiet and just slept the whole way. I can see how the fake ESA thing is tempting, for sure. I could have saved over $2,000 over the past 4 years if I wasn’t paying those dumb fees. But abusing those things can create real issues for people with legitimate needs so I wouldn’t ever do that.
 
I strongly believe ESA's shouldn't be allowed anywhere until they are put through the same strenuous training and programs that other service animals are put through. Not just an owner training their pet. The vast majority of people haven't a clue on how to train a dog to be comfortable in all situations and not all dogs can be. It isn't fair to force your dog into a situation it basically needs its own ESA for just because you want your pet to be with you.

Basically this bull**** of just training whatever dog you have as a pet into an "ESA" has to stop. They need purpose bred animals as ESA's that get assigned to the person with say PTSD similar to the guide dogs for the blind programs.
Anybody with a disability can train any dog to be their service dog, not even just ESAs.
I feel that service animals should be prescribed by doctors and all should come certified trained prior to acquiring them.
As laws are right now, service animals are not required to be certified nor required to have identification nor are owners required to do anything other than answer two questions about their animal when asked. The system is very flawed.
 
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Anybody with a disability can train any dog to be their service dog, not even just ESAs.
I feel that service animals should be prescribed by doctors and all should come certified trained prior to acquiring them.
As laws are right now, service animals are not required to be certified nor required to have identification nor are owners required to do anything other than answer two questions about their animal when asked. The system is very flawed.
It's also BS the amount of MONEY and resources that people need to have a professionally-trained service dog. Obviously the ideal situation is to have a service dog selected, raised, and trained by a service dog organization, but it usually costs tens of thousands of dollars to get such an animal. And people who are legally considered disabled (meaning, receiving disability stipends due to inability to work) aren't even legally ALLOWED to amass such funds at one time. Until we have an equitable system where folks with disabilities can access professionally-trained service dogs for reasonable costs, there MUST be a way for owners to train their own service dogs and be legally granted access with them. I do agree with the need for FREE governmental certification/identification, though, much too easy for people to bring fake service dogs into unsafe situations. I don't really understand why ESAs are given air access rights, nor do I think they should, simply because it is hard enough to get access with real service dogs without fake aggressive and unhygienic ESAs causing issues.
 
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