Maeve dogged by criticism over her airline ruse

COMEDIAN Maeve Higgins is in the doghouse after revealing she pretended to need an assistance dog to avoid paying for her pet to travel on a flight from the US.

She told last week’s Late Late Show she bought a fake service-dog vest on Amazon.

The Cork comic, 37, said she used the ploy to bring her dog, Shadow, on a transatlantic flight last Christmas and boasted: ‘I got my own row on the airplane.’

But disability charities and campaigners have expressed ‘outrage’ and ‘disappointment’.

My Canine Companion, an Irish charity that provides highly trained animals to people with disabilities, said it was outraged that Higgins was ‘having a laugh over faking a service dog’.

‘A mockery has now been made for people who genuinely use a service dog,’ it stated. Nicole Duggan, author of the My Boy Blue blog and mother of a child with autism who uses a service Pet: Maeve with dog Shadow dog, was also highly critical.

‘Ryan Tubridy laughed and joked with a woman who was insulting every person who has a service dog in this country. Every person that has a disability,’ she wrote. ‘They joked about Maeve Higgins bringing a dog, who is not a service dog, on a plane with her, pretending that she was, in fact, a working dog…

‘They joked about how she got her pet to come on holidays with her for free by pretending she was a service dog and forging documents. I am disgusted!’

She added: ‘My little boy is four years old! His My Canine Companion autism service dog Willow is going to keep him safe. She is going to give my little boy his independence back. She is going to help him walk independently.

‘Willow [the dog] helps Riley [her son] every day in hard situations. She helps him cope. She calms him down… How dare RTÉ make a mockery of service dogs.’

Higgins tweeted after the show

‘How dare RTÉ make a mockery’

that she was ‘unbothered in advance about the comments’, but later apologised.

‘Big apologies to anyone hurt or offended by my emotional support dog bit… Much love and respect for people who need, fundraise for and train service dogs and thank you for the information! Will do better!’ she said.

Efforts to reach the comedian for comment through her publicist were unsuccessful.