what an unfortunate incident. I see both sides of the story and agree with both sides. they should make sure that if someone who is bringing a seeing-eye-dog is booked on the flight, then the flight attendants for that particular flight don't have a fear of dogs.

"a flight attendant on the flight was scared of dogs and that she'd have to change her seat."

Okay, that's beyond ridiculous. Why wouldn't they just have the flight attendant change seats?

Wow... agreed.

Don't know the state from your post... but every state has a Protection and Advocacy agency for people with disabilities-- I'd give yours a call to see if they have an interest in this.

[www.napas.org]

@gparlett: I think the attendant was working the flight, not sitting next to the person in question.

But...be that as it may, this is completely ridiculous.

I don't trust people who are afraid of dogs. I'm serious. Unless that person was mauled by a pit-bull when they were six.. then they can be afraid of dogs and I won't judge them. Otherwise.. you are afraid of dogs? There's probably something wrong with you.

I dunno, I've never understood people that are afraid of dogs or don't like them, so perhaps it is like a phobia. If so, then the flight attendant may also have a "disability" that she can't help. Although imo, she is probably one of those spiteful people that don't like animals, and wanted to make the mother inconvenienced as much as possible for having to put up with a "filthy animal".

@JGKojak: Sic the ACLU on 'em. Natalie's mother is protected under the ADA but apparently, Delta Airlines interprets "compliance" with ADA regs fairly loosely. I'm guessing the ACLU would have something to say about this.

Honestly, even if you're afraid of dogs, guide dogs are the least likely to cause trouble of any I can think of. Why didn't Delta either take the attendant off the flight or move her to a difference seat/section?

@Farquar: hahah...I completely agree...disagree...am happy and completely offended with that comment. Nice.

I'm pretty sure there is no law anywhere requiring stewardesses to be unafraid of dogs. Stewards & stewardesses have set seats on the flight, dogs and their handlers do not. She should have sat elsewhere and left the dog upfront like the wheelchair it's been compared too.

@Saboth: Please. A "fear of dogs"? Not a disability in my book. If this flight attendant had such a problem with the service dog, he/she should have switched sections with another attendant.

@Farquar: I was bitten by a dog in the face when I was small, but I am not afraid of dogs and quite often am awakened by my face in the mouth of a dog licking and preening me with 175 pounds of dog sitting on top of my chest. Anyone who is afraid of a dog is obviously an evil and bad person.

@gparlett:

I can understand someone's fear of an everyday, garden variety dog.

But a WORKING dog? Seriously?! I thought people were aware of the extensive training they go through. Apparently not.

This is beyond stupid. She shouldn't have to go through this to get her dog on the plane.

@TheGuinnessTooth: So, you are suggesting that the service dog should have been separated from its owner? Now, that's a recipe for disaster.

If this was a family pet I could understand. This is a trained dog for a person who is not able to see. Even if you are afraid of dogs...get over it...this woman CANNOT SEE (hence the dog).

Besides...this act just shows how selfish this flight attendant is. If she/he does not like the color green, do I have to take off my shirt?

@Farquar: My mom is unreasonably terrified of cats.

What Delta did was wrong, but I think everyone is entitled to their own dose of phobia without having to be judged.

@Saboth: For some people it's a cultural thing. A friend of mine's parents grew up in India, and they instilled in her a fear of dogs because of the wild packs of pariah dogs that roamed the streets in Gujarat.

@Saboth: Plus, it's not like this was some street cur that wandered onto the flight, it was a guide dog for poop's sake. It's a dog that can understand freakin' traffic signals! It's been trained to be calm under any conditions, and is probably better behaved than most kids these days. There's no way it's going to maul anyone.

Even though I sympathize with both parties (the flight attendant might have had a bad/traumatizing experience) this is the part that confuses me and makes me think that the flight attendant was punishing the woman for her having to put up with the dog being there and refusing to move.

"Throughout the flight, the supposedly terrified attendant bothered her every time the dog's tail was in the foot space of the seat next to her - which was empty - asking her to move the dog."

You would think a flight attendant has seen everything and has learned to deal with people properly, but apparently not. Maybe they need to retrain their attendants or find some way to make the company aware of phobias or past traumatic experiences to avoid situations like these that make the company look bad.

@Farquar:

I disagree. Ten years ago at the age of 1 my son was charged and barked at by our neighbor's pit bull. Ever since that moment my son has been terrified of all dogs, big or small. It doesn't take a mauling to put a very real fear of dogs into a person, and once there it is not easy to get rid of, I know, we've tried everything including getting help for him. He's now 11 years old and I still see terror in his eyes whenever he hears or sees a dog. I really think you need to reconsider your lack of trust for people who have a fear of dogs.

The title of the article, and the content of the OP's submission are in conflict. The OP indicates she was TOLD she was going to have to change seats. The title of the article indicates she was asked to change seats. HUGE difference. I would have no problem whatsoever with them simply asking here if she'd voluntarily change seats because the flight attendant was afraid of the dog. I don't think it's unreasonable of them to ask her if she'd be willing to do that. HOWEVER, if they simply told her, as it appears they did, that she HAD to move, that's another story.

While I think that was way out of line, I'm not entirely sure they'd be required to give her that seat(at the bulkhead) if the dog was able to be accommodated in another seat in the cabin. They have to make reasonable accommodations, but one that is made solely for the comfort of the passenger/dog is probably not encompassed in that requirement. She seems to indicate that she likes the bulkhead seat only because it gives the dog more room. I think that might be outside the intent of the ADA, etc. So long as the dog can be accommodated in the seat they assign her to, even if it doesn't have a ton of room, I suspect they're probably in compliance with the law.

If the flight attendant was so scared of the dog, then why did she make a point to go near it and the blind lady just to complain about the tail touching the empty seat?

Sounds more like a control issue than a fear issue. If it was a problem she could have had another flight attendant complain about it if she was truly afraid of it. Except that the other attendants probably knew better than her.

@Farquar: I'm with you. I used to work with a woman who had 3 or 4 cats, and she said she didn't like dogs because she "didn't understand them, all that stuff about not looking them in the eye or they'll attack." Whaaa? I told her she was thinking of chimps, not dogs.

Dolta Airlines.

@redskull:

I dunno, I was kind of thinking maybe a dog bit off half her face when she was 5, so she has a phobia. Since I'm a dog lovin kind of guy, that is the only rational explanation!

@gparlett: Agreed, there are jump seats for the working crew at both ends of most planes. Time to do a swap with your coworker working on the other end.

Animal lovers don't treat dogs like a thing. Not even guide dogs. I know a lot of blind people don't treat their seeing eyes dog as a wheelchair. It is their companion also. Please don't treat your seeing eyes dog like a wheelchair. They are lovely, they help you. Do you even talk to your wheelchair? What do you feed your wheelchair with?

@Farquar: My 14-year-old son is afraid of dogs, always has been, and I trust him complet..., wait a minute. He does have those shifty, beady little eyes. Maybe I should do a background check on him or something.

lol

@TheGuinnessTooth: Actually, I'm fairly sure that that dog's handler DID have a seat on the plane...that's kind of the whole damn point, isn't it? I mean, it's not like this blind woman just wandered into the airport and decided to board some random plane. She paid for a ticket like everyone else, and by law they must accommodate her service animal.

Also, you really want to tell a blind woman, who relies on her dog to BE HER FREAKING EYES, to leave the dog someplace and go sit alone? Really?

You, sir, are way, WAY too cold for comfort.

@redskull:
I don't believe phobias are considered a disability but you bring up an interesting point that it could be. Problem is testing for such a disability. Aside from brain scans I'd imagine it would be difficult to legitimately and easily prove that a person had a disabling fear of something that would interrupt their normal life/work.

@valueofaloonie: While I agree that the attendant and airline were wrong in this instance, a phobia can indeed be a c rippling disability.

It's not rational and it's not the persons fault. It causes real physiological reactions. Hyperventilation, increased heart rate, faintness, shortness of breath.

However it does not mean the person cannot be reasonable or professional away from the dog. Calmly telling the passenger that she has a clinical phobia of dogs and that if she seems curt or mean, she is not trying to be can go a long way.

Or the attendant was just being an ass.

@valueofaloonie: I think the attendant was working the flight, not sitting next to the person in question.

And that could be solved by having the attendant work first class that flight.

and she better have curled up in a corner type fear if she is going to make a fuss about a gentle guide dog - who most likely laid like a lump on the ground the entire flight.

@Saboth: Since Natalie's mom let the flight know ahead of time that she would be bringing her service dog, it was still the airline's responsibility to accomodate her, even if it meant changing the employee's schedule so she wouldn't come in contact with something she's afraid of.

@Farquar: A German Shep took a chunk out of my left arm when I was 6. I still love doggies! Still have the scar. (No, I did not provoke the dog in any way- but it was not a vicious/intentional bite either)

@Nathanael Dale Ries: True, that's what it's starting to sound like to me... maybe she just didn't want to clean up the fur or "mess" that she thought the dog may do (freaking out when his tail wondered over to the next seat). She probably thinks dogs are filthy and disgusting and shouldn't be allowed in spaces meant for humans.

@TheGuinnessTooth: I want to make a rational argument here, but you're clearly an irrational person, so I'm not even going to bother.

@Esquire99: I think they started out Telling her, but then the CRO told them they couldn't Tell her, so then they Asked.

My take. Either way, they could always shuffle the attendants. It's not rocket science.

@LegoMan322: No but if the sight of your green shirt made her hyperventilate, or panic, or pass out, you might be willing to change. Clinical phobias are real and cause real physical reactions.

I don't know that is the case here, but it could be.

Just because you have not experienced that type of reaction doesn't make it less real. I don't have allergies, but I don't mock the people that do.

@Farquar: My GF was both mauled by a dog at a young age, and saw a dog killed in a car accident. So, she simultaneously hates dogs, but if she sees one in pain, she'll start sobbing immediately.

Some dozen or so years ago, I vowed to never voluntarily fly on Delta. At the time, it was mostly due to the fact that the majority of plane incidents (crashes, etc.) were on Delta owner or operated planes. With the recent customer service issues, including this one, my resolve has been doubled to continue to not fly on them. Why pay them money to have you or others treated this way?

@redskull: None of that makes any difference to someone with a phobia. It's kinda in the definition.

I sympathize with the flight attendant because I have a phobia about flying. I'm a wreck every time I even think about getting on an airplane, and I know it's the safest way to travel. I understand lift and drag, and none of that matters. Trust me, that flight attendant sat in terror the whole time, and that sucks.

There had to be an option for the flight attendant to sit someplace else.

"Guide dog" or "service animal" is the correct generic term here. A "Seeing Eye dog" is an animal that has been trained by one specific school (The Seeing Eye, Inc.) Calling all guide dogs Seeing Eye dogs is like calling all refrigerators Fridigaires.

@LadySiren: The ACLU doesn't do consumer advocacy. They only step in whenever the government tries to do something onerous that restricts civil liberties.

@haoshufu: I think you're missing the point. Commenters are not recommending that the dog be treated callously; they are saying that from a legal standpoint, the airline can no more ban a dog than refuse a wheelchair.

So, yeah. The dog-phobic flight attendant should have been told to switch assignments with another flight attendant. I'm guessing it was a less a phobia and more of a "doesn't like dogs" situation, the flight attendants talked it over, and said "hey let's tell her you're afraid and see if she'll move". Hence the bitchiness when the passenger declined.

@icantreplyright: Woodrow Wilson said something about not rusting a person that a dog will not go to after having looked that person in they eye. I forget the exact quote.

My mother has a phobia. It would be unsafe for her to be in close proximity of the object of it and be responsible for the kind of work a stewardess does.

It's not the stewardess' fault. It sounds like there have been other issues with Delta, but this one? Just a difficult situation. What would y'all prefer, for this woman and her dog to have to move, or to have a distressed and unable to properly perform her job stewardess?

@undefined: I'm kind of nervous around big dogs, like German Shephards. There used to be this insane Shephard on my gradnmother's street that would bark and try and dig underneath the fence all day. Since I was a kid and heard these terrifying stories about that and dog attacks from my Uncle it freaked me out.

Then we got a dog, who's now an 80 pound Siberian Husky and the nicest (people say that but there must be something up with this dog, if someone broke into our house he'd lick their hand leave with them) large dog and I love him. Some big dogs still make me nervous but the Husky helped.

Even my grandmother who my mum said for 30 years wouldn't even go near a dog petted him, so that's a good sign.

You've got to give the same rights to people that are afraid of dogs as to people that require their use. The airline followed the law. Aside from that, it's just a whiny case of "they didn't treat me with reverence," which isn't part of the law. Look, we all have unpleasant experiences from time to time. If every, single unpleasant experience was reported on the Consumerist, we'd not be able to keep up.

Still, if I were seated next to the dog, I'd ask permission to pet it, and give it a treat or two. We're not ALL weird, dog-fearing freaks (whom, as I said, we do need to accommodate).