Oh nuts, the line is getting blurred yet again. When it comes to emotional support animals (ESA), the first thing that comes to mind is a dog. They are trained and bred to be able to offer love and cuddles to their owner who has a health or mental condition. They cannot be kicked out of the house, or off an airplane, and the owner must have an official document.
But, what happens when your ESA isn’t a dog? And it’s not a cat either. Nor is it a rabbit or any other such common ESA. And which animals are suitable to be an ESA? Who gets to decide which ones are?
It’s these questions and a lack of policy regarding this gray area that has the public, trainers, and the people who need ESAs the most, pushing for lawmakers to step up and enforce change. Things are starting to get a little hairy especially since recent events have caused an outrage on all fronts.
Cindy Torok, a passenger on a Frontier Airline flight out of Orlando, Florida to Cleveland, Ohio, USA, was deplaned after standing her ground. The airline was forced to remove the woman after learning she had boarded the plane with a squirrel. The low-budget airline has a strict policy about which animals are allowed to board – a squirrel, as an ESA or not, isn’t one of them. “We do not accept unusual or exotic animals including but not limited to rodents, reptiles, insects, hedgehogs, rabbits, sugar gliders, non-household birds or improperly cleaned and/or animals with a foul odor.”
Frontier had to get the police involved after informing Cindy that rodents were not allowed. The woman was adamant, and as a result, was pulled off the plane causing a two-hour delay for both the flight and its passengers.
The airline comments, “The passenger noted in their reservation that they were bringing an emotional support animal but it was not indicated that it was a squirrel. Rodents, including squirrels, are not allowed on Frontier flights.” According to Cindy’s daughter Monica, the airline was contacted twice to confirm that Daisy, the emotional support squirrel, could, in fact, be allowed to go on the flight. They stated that the animal was to stay in the pet carrier and Cindy comes equipped with a doctor’s note. Cindy isn’t the first to bring a unique animal on a flight. Apparently, other people have brought on pigs, monkeys, turkeys, and peacocks as emotional support animals.
Click on the video below to see the aftermath of what happens when you bring a squirrel on a flight.
