Delta to impose ban on all ‘pit bull type’ service, support dogs
Delta Airlines, acting in response to two employees being bitten last week and the mauling of a passenger on a plane last year, has issued a blanket ban on both emotional support and service dogs that are classified as “pit bull type” beginning July 10.
Both dogs in the Delta cases were emotional support dogs, not service dogs, which have a higher level of training. People with service dogs also have protections under the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act, allowing them to take their trained dogs into areas other animals would not normally be permitted, such as restaurants and airplane cabins.
Delta spokesman Ashton Kang said the airlines are regulated under theAir Carrier Access Act , which gives them the right to “exclude animals that are too large or heavy to be accommodated in the cabin; pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others; cause a significant disruption of cabin service or are prohibited from entering a foreign country.”
The decision is particularly concerning to Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek, which has a program that matches veterans with rescue dogs, who are then trained as service dogs. Because pit bulls and mixes make up a large percentage of shelter populations in Northern California, and because the dogs have an aptitude for service work, many of the veterans have dogs of this type.
Elena Bicker, ARF’s executive director, said the organizers believe decisions to restrict a service animal should be based on their individual behavior, as the law states, and not a blanket policy based on how a dog looks.
“The ACAA currently contains language indicating service animalsmust be trained to behave appropriately in public and can be removed or restricted if they pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or cause significant disruption,” Bicker said. “This is breed discrimination based on visual assessment of an unskilled airline representative pressured to make a quick pre-board assessment.”
While the veterans can choose other carriers, if those airlines follow suit, the vets could find themselves grounded.
In a statement issued by Delta, the airline attributed the change to an increase in incidents with support animals. The ban is part of a crackdown the airline began in March to root out fake service and support animals.
According to the statement, the ban, which comes as the peak summer travel season is underway, is “the direct result of growing safety concerns following recent incidents in which several employees were bitten.”
The new regulations also limit customers to just one service or support animal per flight.
Delta already has placed restrictions on types of support animals it will allow in the passenger compartment, and requires advance notice and a doctor’s statement for emotional support animals.
“The safety and security of Delta people and our customers is always our top priority,” Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer said. “We will always review and enhance our policies and procedures to ensure that Delta remains a leader in safety.”
Despite the pit bull’s reputation for viciousness, the dogs have a proven record as service dogs, and ARF “has found tremendous success” training pit bull types as emotional service dogs within its Pets and Vets program, Bicker said.
“ARF’s resultsmirror the American Temperament Test Society outcomes testing approximately 30,000 dogs of every breed and mix on skittishness, aggression and differentiation between threatening and non-threatening humans,” Bicker said. “Animals they defined as pit bulls reached an 86 percent success rate, making them the secondmost tolerant breed tested by the ATTS. They are preceded only by golden retrievers.”