Comment by lxmorj | Hacker News Reader

Comment by lxmorj | Hacker News Reader

Ugh. Pet laws are so terrible. They're made out of laziness and a weird inability to confront the actual problem. I have a pretty damn good dog. Lots of people have shit dogs. Rather than actually address bad behavior, we decide to tell everyone with a dog "no dogs here". "Some people with dogs are inconsiderate, and we don't want to deal with that, so all people cannot bring their dogs". In particular airlines have constructed a ruleset which (incorrectly) assumes small dogs can be only so inconvenient/irritating to other passengers and that larger dogs will be ok in the cargo space.

I have an ESA certificate to fly with my ~40lb Wheaten. Once, on a three hour flight, I took my seat well before the woman next to me. When we landed and my pup got out from her curled-up, fuck-this-engine-noise position under the seat, the woman jumped, laughed, and said "I THOUGHT YOU HAD A FUR BAG!". That is to say - while she isn't a perfect dog, she's pretty chill and well-behaved.

I got the certificate online, and without lying. That said, the quiz amounts to a longwinded version of "Do you get anxious? Does it get worse when traveling? Does your dog make you feel better?" To which I think most humans who have dogs would say "Triple yes."

I've looked at each argument that what I'm doing is immoral, and found a rationale suggestion otherwise.

"People are allergic!" For $100 a tiny shedding dog can ride in a very-not-dander-proof container. My dog is non-shedding.

"They can be noisy!" So can your toddler. So can above tiny dog. Mine isn't.

"It's like parking in a handicap spot!" No silly, my dog takes up my foot space, no one else's

"The airline is losing money!" My dog & I weigh less combined than plenty of people who pay the same fare. I've also offered to buy a seat for my dog and leave her in a large crate on the seat. No takers.

"The guy next to you doesn't want a dog around!" See answer 1. Also, 90% of people are happy to be distracted from the horror of flying. Anyone who isn't can easily trade seats, since more than 50% of people are happy to sit by the pup.

All in, my choices are:

- don't have a dog - have a smaller dog - risk my dog dying under the plane / guarantee she's terrified - don't travel - get an ESA certificate

I have a dog allergy and I would like to clear up a common misconception. Shedding dogs are usually worse, but hypoallergenic/non-shedding dogs can still cause allergic reactions. The difference is that there are less allergens in the saliva, fur, etc than a normal dog but there are still allergens. In other words, hypoallergenic dogs are a solution for mild dog allergies, emphasis on mild.

This is absolutely true. The vast majority of dog allergies are 'mild' though which is why people don't realise.

Right - but as I said above - that doesn't stop small shedding dogs from causing you problems. My point is that, on the allergy front, my Wheaten is no worse than a beagle that someone paid for.

Or, you know, don't travel with your dog. Like most people who fly.

The two times I have been with people with fake ish service dogs it made me way more anxious in public. I do not want to stand out. I would not want the stares or attention from a dog where it is unwelcome, cannot understand that these people actually feel better pissing people off.

Luckily for almost everyone involved, you are not legally protected from the stares of my dog.

Good points. The airlines definitely push you to register the pets even if you don't want to. I have a hypoallergenic 5 lb dog. She fits under the seat.

On most flights they don't care if she is out of her carrier and the only reason we've kept her out is because she either makes an annoying whine or she will sound like a tiny monkey which disrupts passengers. It's not a bark by any measure but it's very noticeable to the point where people don't even know what kind of animal is making the noise. We've drugged her with Childen's Benadryl and another option from the vet before which usually helps but we'd rather not have to resort to it.

We pay $75 each way to take her. It's usually completely subjective on the enforcement of any policy. On the last flight the first attendant took selfies with her and oodled over her for at least 5 minutes. Then the next attendant on the same flight yelled at us for having her out of her carrier (saying it's gate to gate). We usually walk her throughout the airport on her leash.

Anyway, our options are - we can put her in her carrier and others will be disturbed if they don't have noise cancelling headphones or want to use the available earplugs, or we could keep her out of her carrier with no risk to anyone and she'll be completely fine and look out the window in awe like a child.

I understand a few bad dogs can ruin it for all but there should be some discretion allowed and the way they enforce any such policies is confusing and not optimal for all parties. They took my money to allow her but is it really ideal to force me to keep her in her carrier and disrupt passengers?

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