1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbam here the skies aren't always so friendly. A 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: couple incidents have been reported of large dogs fighting airline 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: passengers as the number of pets flying as service and 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: emotional support animals has skyrocketed. According to Delta alone, it 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: was up a hundred and fifty percent between twenty fifteen 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: and twenty seventeen. This prompted the airline and others to 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: enact more stringent requirements for onboard animals. Delta's rules now 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: say that owners of emotional support animals will be required 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: to show proof of their pets health or vaccinations at 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: least forty eight hours before a flight. They also need 12 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: to present a statement from their doctor declaring a mental 13 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: health disability. Finally, owners must also sign a statement saying 14 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,200 Speaker 1: their animal can behave. Emotional support animals occupy a different 15 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: category from service animals, which are highly trained to perform specific, 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: potentially life saving tasks for people living with a disability. 17 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: We spoke via email with Beth Zimmerman, founder of Pets 18 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,639 Speaker 1: for Patriots, an organization that matches shelter dogs and cats 19 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: with veterans. She said Emotional support animals are companion pets, 20 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: ordinary house pets that are recommended by an individual's mental 21 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: health professional for the alleviation of symptoms of an emotional disability. 22 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: Emotional support animals do not have to be task trained 23 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: or have any unique training at all. Their mere presence 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: is assistive. Essays don't even have to be dogs. Snakes, 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: rats and pigs can be used as e says a 26 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: One photo that circulated the Internet recently claimed to picture 27 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: an emotional support peacock. Airlines don't have to accommodate unusual 28 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: service animals, though, but they do have to provide the 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,839 Speaker 1: passenger with a written explanation of their reasoning. We also 30 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: spoke via email with psychologist Tannisia Ranger, who works mainly 31 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: with veterans. She said, the research on the positive impact 32 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: that emotional support animals have on people who are struggling 33 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: with mental illness is pretty plentiful. They have a calming 34 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: of effect lowering stress levels in the owner. They offer 35 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: companionship and help to lessen isolation. They offer a sense 36 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: of security and protection for those who struggle with PTSD, 37 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:12,320 Speaker 1: and to get a feel for how this works, we 38 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: spoke via email with Ashley Jacobs, CEO of Sitting for 39 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: a Cause. Jacobs has hereditary hemochromatosis, which requires her to 40 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,839 Speaker 1: have regular phlebotomies, to which she always brings her nine 41 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: year old Golden retriever Diamond. Jacob said needles are my 42 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: biggest fear in the world, so my E s A 43 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: comes with me to all my phlebotomies. Having her with 44 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: me keeps me from panicking during the procedure. Yet, Jacobs 45 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: also said she wouldn't take Diamond with her on a plane. 46 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: For one, she doesn't need her dog for traveling. Also quote, 47 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:45,839 Speaker 1: while she is a very well behaved dog, it's hard 48 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: to guarantee she wouldn't get a little antsy or anxious 49 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: about the new sound, smells, an environment on a plane. 50 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: She's also about seventy pounds and takes up a bit 51 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,480 Speaker 1: of space. So for the comfort of other passengers and 52 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: to avoid giving E s A is a potentially bad 53 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: rep I figured it's best to leave her at home. 54 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: Unlike service dogs, who are allowed access pretty much everywhere 55 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: by federal law, the only legal rights essays have our 56 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: reasonable accommodation in no pet housing and the right to 57 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: accompany their owners in the cabin of a commercial aircraft 58 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: without having to be kept in a container or to 59 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: pay a pet transportation fee, which is typically at least 60 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: a hundred dollars each way. Many passengers looking to avoid 61 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: this fee have started to classify their pets as emotional 62 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: support animals. Psychologist Rangers said there's a lot of fraud 63 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: out there. A cursory Google search will find you any 64 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: number of websites where you can buy letters from clinicians, 65 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: tags and vests which may not be legitimate, and when 66 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: untrained animals tech innocent bystanders, it further creates stigma for 67 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: those who actually need service animals. Christifed Father, operations administrator 68 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: for Assistance Dogs International, said individuals with disabilities often have 69 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: additional stress as they do not know when they may 70 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: encounter a non trained essay dog that may inflict harm 71 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: on them and they're trained assistance dog. The general public 72 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: is also affected as they cannot determine which assistance dog 73 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: team is trained or which ones are non trained ESA dogs. 74 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: The jury is still out on exactly what needs to 75 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: happen to rectify the issue, but most industry experts agree 76 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: that something needs to be done. The air carrier access 77 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 1: Act lists these specific rules regarding service animals and e 78 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: says aboard aircraft, and states that airlines may request documentation 79 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: for e says, such as the type that Delta requires. 80 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: The rules say airlines can determine whether the animal is 81 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: truly a service a support animal by quote observing the 82 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: behavior of the animal, looking for physical indicators such as harness, 83 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: and accepting the credible verbal assurances of an individual with 84 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: a disability using the animal. Some nineteen states have laws 85 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: prohibiting people from passing off their pets as service animals, 86 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: but they're hard to enforce due to rules from the 87 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: Americans with Disabilities Act concerning what questions a business owner 88 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: may ask about a service animal. For instance, a business 89 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: owner cannot ask for documentation or demonstration of a service 90 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: dogs training. There's also no registry of service trained animals. 91 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: Attorney Aaron Jackson has written about the hostility she encountered 92 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: from airline employees and passengers when she traveled with her 93 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: es A. She said, Unfortunately, the prevalence of e s 94 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: a vest and registry scams desensitizes the public from understanding 95 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: the impact and importance of the essays to individuals who 96 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: truly need them for therapeutic purposes instead of viewing the 97 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: animal as a therapy tool. Fellow travelers may resent other 98 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,239 Speaker 1: passengers who are allowed to bring their pet on the plane. However, 99 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: note that because e Says don't wear identification, other travelers 100 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: may not be able to distinguish between a pet and 101 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: an e s A. Today's episode was written by Alia 102 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 1: Hot and produced by Tyler Clang for iHeart Media and 103 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of 104 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: other topics with unexpected peacocks, visit our home planet, how 105 00:05:52,040 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com.