Kathryn Hurley, a director at a Los Angeles dog rescue service, has been flying for years with her pit bull dog, Jax, an emotional support animal that has been trained to behave on a flight.
She learned the hard way that Delta Air Lines has new restrictions on traveling with animals: Hurley had to cancel her trip to Detroit scheduled for next month because Delta wouldn’t let Jax on the plane. The showdown was the result of a new policy by the Atlanta-based carrier that limits passengers to one emotional support animal per flight and bans all “pit bull type dogs” either as service animals or emotional support animals.
Service animals are trained to assist passengers with physical disabilities, such as blindness; emotional support animals help alleviate the anxiety and stress suffered by people with mental-health disabilities.
Delta is not alone in adjusting its animal policies. Several major airlines have adopted new restrictions for passengers flying with animals following a series of incidents involving dogs on planes and a surge of passengers flying with dogs, cats, turkeys and other creatures.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.