emotional support animal

15 Stories

Woman Awarded $165K in Emotional Support Parrot Case

NYC housing co-op tried to evict her after neighbor complained about noise

(Newser) - A woman who faced eviction after complaints about noise from her three emotional support parrots has been awarded enough money to buy plenty of crackers for Layla, Ginger, and Curtis. The Rutherford, a co-operative apartment building in Manhattan, has agreed to pay $165,000 to Meril Lesser in what the...

Man Loses Emotional Support Gator: 'Bring My Baby Back'

Joie Henney was vacationing in Georgia when Wally vanished

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania man who credits an alligator named Wally for helping relieve his depression for nearly a decade says he's searching for the reptile after it went missing during a vacation to the coast of Georgia. Joie Henney has thousands of social media users following his pages devoted to...

Pennsylvania Man Has Emotional Support Alligator

WallyGator is 'super sweet-natured,' owner Joie Henney

(Newser) - Pennsylvania man Joie Henney has an unusual emotional support animal—but unlike owners of animals including peacocks and squirrels , he's not going to try to take it on a plane. WallyGator accompanies him almost everywhere, though, and sleeps in the same bed, the Washington Post reports. Wildlife experts say...

Feds Say Airlines Can Ban Emotional Support Animals

Agency tightens definition of service animals

(Newser) - The government has decided that when it comes to air travel, only dogs can be service animals, and companions used for emotional support don't count. The Transportation Department issued a final rule Wednesday that aims to settle years of tension between airlines and passengers who bring their pets on...

Fliers May Have to Attest Their Pets Are Service Animals

Proposal would limit passengers to humans and dogs

(Newser) - Passengers have taken advantage by bringing miniature horses, monkeys, turkeys, pigs, peacocks, rabbits and, of course, cats aboard their flights, saying they're service animals needed for emotional support, airline employees say. A federal proposal would simplify the rules on service animals by allowing only dogs onto flights, NBC reports....

Union Calls for Change After Support Dog Bites Flight Attendant

American Airlines attendant needed 5 stitches

(Newser) - An American Airlines flight attendant needed five stitches after an emotional support dog bit him on the hand, the airline says. American did not disclose what kind of dog was involved in the incident Monday on a flight from Dallas to North Carolina, USA Today reports. The flight attendant's...

He Had a Window Seat. The Dog Lunged From the Middle: Suit

Suit says he bled so much after attack on Delta flight 'entire row of seats had to be removed'

(Newser) - A Delta flight Marlin Jackson took in June 2017 from Atlanta to San Diego ended up being a horrific one, he claims—and now he's suing the airline and another passenger for negligence after an animal attack he says caused him "severe physical pain and suffering," as...

Bite From 'Emotional Support' Pit Bull Brings $1.1M Suit

Girl left with permanent scarring after 2017 encounter at airport

(Newser) - A mom wants $1.1 million from Alaska Airlines and the owner of a pit bull that bit her 5-year-old's face at Portland International Airport in 2017. It was part of a spike in incidents involving emotional support animals, as reported by various airlines. Alaska Airlines was among those...

Delta: Don't Bring Emotional Support Animals on Long Flights

Service puppies are also banned

(Newser) - If you're planning a flight longer than eight hours, Delta Air Lines says you can't bring an emotional-support animal with you. The rules for pups are getting tighter, too. Neither support animals nor trained service animals will be allowed on any Delta flights if they are under 4...

Fliers Cheer as Woman, Squirrel Are Kicked Off Plane
Fliers Cheer as Woman,
Squirrel Are Kicked Off Plane
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Fliers Cheer as Woman, Squirrel Are Kicked Off Plane

The rodents aren't permitted on Frontier flights as emotional support animals

(Newser) - If you're wondering how on earth a squirrel managed to get onto a plane at the Orlando airport, here's the answer: A woman walked right on board with it Tuesday. USA Today reports the passenger had told Frontier Airlines in advance that she would be bringing an "...

Emotional Support Dog Bites Child on Flight

Southwest says it will review policies for support, service animals

(Newser) - An emotional support dog bit a young girl's head before a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday, leading to the removal of a passenger from the plane and a 20-minute delay, CBS News reports. Southwest spokesperson Melissa Ford tells Bloomberg the girl, who is around 6 years old, approached the dog...

PETA Has Issue With Woman Who Flushed Her Hamster

'This must have been a horrific, terrifying death'

(Newser) - Airlines that accept emotional support animals on flights usually have explicit instructions on which ones are OK and which aren't, but a miscommunication about Spirit Airlines' policy led to hubbub over a hamster. Belen Aldecosea, a 21-year-old college student who was heading home to Florida for surgery on her...

Flier Said She Had No Option but to Flush Her Pet Hamster

Belen Aldecosea claims a Spirit Airlines rep recommended she do so

(Newser) - "I didn’t have any other options," says Belen Aldecosea, so she opted for a pretty awful one: She flushed her dwarf hamster down the toilet. The 21-year-old Florida woman says she was compelled to do so because of Spirit Airlines, which she says verified twice on the...

Airline Rejects Woman's Emotional Support Peacock

'This animal did not meet guidelines for a number of reasons'

(Newser) - If you need emotional support from a peacock, don't count on flying United. The airline turned away a woman who tried to bring a peacock on a recent flight from Newark Liberty International as her emotional support animal, reports Business Insider . The woman initially argued that she was entitled...

Airline Boots Anxious Pig From Plane

'Emotional support animal' was anything but

(Newser) - Time for the when-pigs-fly jokes. A pig was ordered off a US Airways plane at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut this week after crewmembers determined that the animal had become disruptive, says an airline spokeswoman. The pig had been brought aboard the flight by a passenger as an "emotional...

15 Stories