I know some people abuse service animal policies to bring their pets on planes and into hotels and restaurants but some people with anxiety benefit from having a support animal with them. It's too bad that Alaska Airlines is banning support animals beginning next month. From Gizmodo:
Alaska Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will no longer allow passengers to bring emotional support animals on its aircraft for any reservations made after January 11. The airline is the first to ban emotional support animals following new guidance from the U.S. Department of Transportation about what kind of animals should be allowed on passenger planes.
The new rules will not apply to dogs that are trained to perform specific tasks, such as guide dogs for people with visual impairments. But the rules will apply to "emotional support" monkeys, peacocks, and snakes—all things that people have actually tried to bring on airplanes in recent years.
"Effective Jan. 11, 2021, Alaska will only transport service dogs, which are specially trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability," Alaska Airlines said in a statement posted online.
[Image of guide horse (not an emotional support animal): By DanDee Shots – Guide horse, CC BY 2.0]
