Emotional Support Animal versus Allergies

[Nocontactgrief]

I think I will be in the minority here, but I want to know AIBU - I read a story about a little horse being allowed on a plane to support an individual:

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/emotional-support-horse-flight-american-airlines
(I don't know how to link!)

I have allergies to animals.
Asthma, hives & all the usual streaming eyes, coughing, sneezing etc.
I take antihistamines but they are not hugely effective against certain animals - obviously everyone is different & has different reactions.

AIBU in thinking a balance should be struck between animals increasingly in spaces where previously they wouldn't be permitted in the past.
Restaurants, cafes & hotels are increasingly dog friendly, with no regard for those for whom close proximity with animals is an issue.
Lots of companies now have office dogs.

Clearly there have always been guide dogs & people have to tolerate some animals in passing, but being in enclosed spaces for extended periods with animals...shouldn't people have a choice?

Whose needs should take priority where you get on a plane & there is a bloody tiny horse onboard?

Do emotional support needs trump physical allergies?

I have got medication from my Go @LittleCandle, it expends the time I can be in contact without breathing difficulties and low blood pressure from 3 to 10 minutes. For some people, medication won't help.

@Fuma

I was booking a flight online for my parents on Norwegian and requested special assistance for their deafness, there was an option to declare food/animal allergies and when I clicked on the information box it said that if there is someone on the flight with a declared animal allergy, they will not allow an animal of that type on the flight (I suppose they just suggest the animal owner book another time or day).

This is fucking ridiculous. No one needs to have a horse with them to get on a plane

You do have to wonder what it is that makes people light on iguanas, goats, ferrets, peacocks, hedgehogs, snakes and horses for ESPs. 🤷‍♀️

Lovely wee thing though he is.

My dh is allergic to cats and horses and they can trigger a severe asthma attack that requires a nebuliser to stabilise.

It’s such a difficult line.

Some people can’t have a dog as a support/disability aid, which is why these horses are being introduced, but in open air environments, I think it’s ok.

Airplanes are a different matter altogether. Recycled air would definitely trigger dh...

But I really don’t know what to say.... dh’s life could actually be in danger if he was on this plane.

In the UK I believe there are different categories for medical support dogs and emotional support animals. Dogs trained to spot dangerous hypo and hyperglycaemia in diabetes need to be trained and certified officially to have medical support dog status. The laws are a bit different in the US.

I think physical safety trumps emotional safety every time.
Others should not be made to suffer a potentially fatal reaction to something because someone else is anxious. If they are that anxious about flying maybe they need CBT or other therapy to help cure or reduce it rather than just being allowed to bring a real live teddy onto a plane.

I am severely allergic to horses.

I don't go on a flight with extra packets of strong antihistamines just in case there is a hairy pet in there.

Antihistamines do not stop all allergic reactions.

DH is also severley allergic to horses- he can't just "pop an antihistamine" not dying trumps everything else.

Also sadly means i can't get my long wished for maltipoo 🐶

If you could rule out the bullshitters that just want their pet in the cabin, I think the fairest way is first come, first served. So if there’s already a support animal booked on the flight, those with allergies can see prior to booking and then decide whether to book. Or vice versa, when a proven allergy sufferer is booked in the flight becomes no support animals.

I don’t think physical support animals should be included in that though, but I do think their should be info available before booking for allergy sufferers. Or that they are offered an alternative flight if someone with a guide dog or similar books after them.

Although I am pondering whether I could get a 17.2hh hunter on as an adhd support pet.

Streaming eyes, blocked nose etc is unpleasant

anaphylaxis or asthma can be deadly. both are allergic reactions.

Problem is there's a whole black market in support animal certification. There was a journalist in the States who bought a bunch of certificates online and went into museums and things with a fake support llama. Utterly ridiculous. Even without allergies, I hate dogs so your support animal would cause me emotional stress.

newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/pets-allowed

If you google "can you die of anxiety" the top link says "Even though panic attacks can feel like a heart attack or other serious condition, it will not cause you to die." Unlike a severe allergic reaction.

As someone allergic to most animals with hair/fur I’ve wondered this more and more. As well as sneezing, Itching etc. It triggers my asthma.

I think the answer is better record keeping - no emotional support menageries, and to have to declare both allergies and service animals . That way the airline can manage that you don’t get conflicts on a flight

A cat rubbed up on me when I was out the other day. By the time I got home my throat felt like it was closing up and my eyes were swollen I couldn't see. I had to get my 4 year old to find my antihistamines. Not ideal but that or potentially not be able to breathe.

The antihistamines worked enough so I could have a shower and breathe but they do not get rid of everything. It feels like you are dying. OP you are not being unreasonable

It's very difficult to balance out competing needs, OP. (FWIW I'm on your side and think that a lot of these people who need 'emotional support animals' would do just as well with either a stuffed toy or a good fucking kick in the twinkle - it's become the latest variant of attention-seeker syndrome...)
I suppose airlines etc, might have to offer to upgrade or financially compensate either the allergic passenger or the one with the animal if they couldn't both travel on the same flight.

It's very difficult to balance out competing needs, OP.

Well, not when one person's need not to have a fatal allergic reaction or asthma attack is 'balanced' against someone's need not feel anxious (or in the case of many of these support animals, someone's desire to keep their pet with them).

It also risks ruining it for people with more serious issues, like so many other schemes for people with additional needs that are ruined or have to tightened up until it's hard to meet the criteria, just because there's always someone who takes the piss.

Aside from the allergy issue, what about the safety issue in case the engine catches fire on take off and they have to order an emergency evacuation? A large animal such as a dog or horse could block the aisle and jeopardise the lives of many passengers trying to escape.

You lot give me flashbacks. I was on a plane with sheep once. I'd forgotten about that. I was in a mail plane and someone sent a ram to a neighbourig farm.

Perhaps if you cannot manage to fly without one, you should not be flying, unless it is to something such as a funeral of a loved one or a family wedding.

Or the fear of flying courses cover the need not to fly without one.

It's only about a year ago I came across the concept of an emotional support animal (as opposed to a pet)- though I notice there is now one in Downing Street, whom I assume will help Carrie Symonds when she reaches 40 and is dumped by Mr Johnson (or he is unfaithful).

Can you house train them....

It’s very common on US domestic flights to have animals in the cabin. Small dogs and cats that are not emotional support animals can travel in carriers. If you have allergies there’s really no avoiding it. It’s well known that the support animal designation is abused when people don’t want their larger dogs to go in the hold. Of course some are genuine and it’s impossible to tell just by looking. I do feel for people with bad allergies.

The US are cracking down on animals in the cabin www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49564227
I have never seen an animal in the cabin, I think it is highly unusual outside the US due to customs regulations etc