What I Would Tell the Airline That Refused to Let Me Travel With My Service Dog

Per the recommendation of my treating providers, I fundraised and paid thousands of dollars to a canine behaviorist named Gary so he could task-train a dog specific to my disability to assist me with being able to live and function independently. Having an emotional support animal (ESA) can help other people — but it was not going to be beneficial to me.

• What is PTSD?

Having a service dog comes with all kinds of challenges. While I wouldn’t change it for the absolute world because my service dog, Leo, is the best thing to ever bless both this planet and my life, you may often find yourself in some pretty shitty situations because people sometimes don’t know how to treat people with service animals. They also may not know how to follow laws and regulations about service animals.

In early 2021, the Department of Transportation (DOT) made changes to the federal regulation known as the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). These changes were supposed to benefit people like me — they were supposed to make things easier and less discriminatory for those with disabilities while also cracking down on the issue of bringing ESAs and fake service dogs on flights. So far, though, this change has only hurt me and many other service dog handlers.

In October 2021, Leo and I were scheduled to fly to Iowa with my partner. I have flown many times with Leo on many different airlines with no issues. I have always provided the required documentation and information and remained compliant with federal regulations regarding Leo’s behavior. This flight was the first flight Leo and I took since the regulation had changed and a new form was introduced.

On this form, it asks who trained the dog. Contrary to popular belief, federal regulation allows individuals to task train a service dog themselves — which is also called “owner training.” There was talk in the disability community that this portion of the new form the Department of Transportation now requires may cause some issues. This is because airlines were calling individuals and telling them their dogs’ training regimens were not legitimate if they didn’t come from a program or accredited organization. However, because I had paid Gary to train my dog, I listed him as my dog’s trainer and figured there likely wouldn’t be any issues.

Wrong.

After sending the required documentation to Allegiant Airlines six months prior and receiving no response, I then emailed the documents two additional times prior to my departure date and followed up on all three emails numerous times. I never received a response that was either a clear “yes” or “no” to traveling with Leo.

I headed to the check-in desk — which by law, I’m not required to do — instead of going directly to our gate to verify my information for Leo. At this time, I became a victim of discrimination and unethical behavior by Allegiant Airlines employees. Below are some of the things I experienced as well as excerpts from an official 12-page complaint that I submitted to both the Department of Transportation and Allegiant Airlines. The Department of Transportation is currently investigating the situation. I have since received a response from Allegiant Airlines that included false accusations surrounding the situation that will be cleared up once surveillance footage is viewed by the Department of Transportation.

Staff members of Allegiant Airlines claimed they attempted to contact my service dog trainer but never received a response. They instead Googled Gary, which brought up information from years back when Gary first advertised his training business — which at the time only included obedience training. However, my trainer no longer advertises.

The airline stated that the information they found showed that my service dog trainer was only an obedience trainer and not a licensed service dog trainer. The last time anything was updated online was around five years ago, so none of the information is current or accurate. I later confirmed with Gary that he was never contacted by Allegiant Airlines. The employee assisting me told me that based on the information they received, my dog was not task-trained, and therefore, he was not a service dog. The basis for this made no sense to me, and quite frankly, spending so much money on training a dog to help me live independently didn’t sound like it really mattered at this point.

Allegiant Airlines failed to inform me they felt I was non-compliant with their policy prior to the date of departure. As a result, instead of notifying me of this so that I could book another flight well in advance, I was forced to travel without my partner and scramble to find a flight to Des Moines that got me there before 12:00 p.m. on October 9, 2021. Several hundred dollars were spent on last-minute flights to ensure I arrived in time.

I attempted to explain that federal regulation allows handlers to “owner train” dogs themselves anyway and that licensed service dog trainers are not a legitimate concept and not recognized as any more legitimate by the federal government as a normal dog trainer would be. The response I got from the employee who was assisting me was, “Federal law may allow owner training, but we here at Allegiant do not, so if you cannot comply with that, do not fly with us again.”

Unfortunately, the Department of Transportation states otherwise on this topic. When the proposed regulation was released to the public for comment prior to it taking effect, the DOT then responded to said comments. Commenters wanted individuals to have service dogs trained or evaluated by an accredited organization to validate the animal’s training. In response, the DOT stated, “We decline the suggestion of A4A that the form requires service animal handlers to certify that the animal was either trained or evaluated by an accredited organization as a means of validating the animal’s training. While DOT provides space on its form for a service animal handler to state the organization or individual that trained the service animal to do work or perform tasks to assist the handler, DOT does not require that individuals with disabilities have their animal trained or evaluated by an accredited organization as a condition of transport.”

The questions airlines are permitted to ask to help determine whether or not a service dog is a service dog were only asked to me via email and not asked while I was at the check-in counter. In fact, I begged to answer them again, and my requests and pleas went unheard and ignored.

I was compliant with Allegiant’s service animal policy. My information was credible and verifiable, but the proper steps to ensure my credibility were not taken. Therefore, it is incorrect to state that my information that was provided was not verifiable. Allegiant’s service dog policy is clear, and I was not in violation of it.

The email I received from Allegiant Airlines that the DOT requires to be sent within 10 calendar days to the individual with a disability, stated, “Allegiant verifies all information provided on the USDOT form and reviews travel history and previous correspondence prior to providing the required approval.” 

This is incorrect, as the information regarding my trainer was not verified properly. My travel history would show I have flown with my service dog onboard Allegiant Airlines flights many times in the past without problems.

The Department of Transportation outlines how airlines should determine whether or not the dog is a service dog. Airlines can determine whether an animal is a service animal or pet by “asking an individual with a disability if the animal is required to accompany the passenger because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.” They can also look for physical indicators like the presence of a harness or vest, look to see if the animal is harnessed, leashed, or otherwise tethered, or observe the animal’s behavior.

Once I arrived at the airport, Allegiant Airlines failed to ask me if my service dog is required because of a disability, and they failed to allow me to state what tasks he is trained to perform. My service dog was properly vested and leashed with a traffic lead for identification purposes. They observed the behavior of my service dog, but I was told that his behavior only proved that he was trained in obedience.

It is worth noting that I received a response from Allegiant Airlines some weeks after my complaint was submitted. It was clear based on their response that they likely did not pull and review surveillance footage reviewed as I requested in my complaint. The department that handles complaints was informed by the employees assisting me that when I walked away from the check-in desk in tears, Leo began barking. However, if they had pulled the footage, they would probably see that a small dog in a carrier began barking at Leo as we walked by.

In this same response, the airline stated that my service dog was not performing his tasks when they felt he should have been. Leo is trained to alert me and others to oncoming panic attacks related to triggers that are associated with traumatic life events. Leo was not and is not trained to alert anyone to any kind of emotional response I have to situations outside of triggers related to my post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). My getting emotional at the check-in desk is not a situation Leo is or was trained to alert or respond to. He neither alerted nor responded to me because this type of emotional response is not related to my PTSD and therefore, I do not need him to perform any tasks for me when I become emotional or upset in that way.

The Department of Transportation does not allow airlines to determine when a service dog should be performing tasks for its handler as grounds for determining that the dog is a pet instead of a service dog.

While Allegiant had the right to ask if my dog is a service dog and what tasks my dog is trained to perform, they didn’t have the right to ask or know the details of my trauma, my PTSD, or what types of situations cause Leo to alert and respond. However, in their response, they stated, “The second CRO (complaint resolution official) was able to hear you crying in the background and screaming over the phone and asked the airport representative to observe the behavior of the service animal. As the situation continued to escalate, Leo remained calm by laying on the ground and took no action. Based on the observed behavior, Leo was denied travel as a service animal.” 

My dog — who is highly trained to help me with my disabling condition — is also highly trained in obedience. This includes laying or sitting down next to me or in front of or behind me when I am standing still or otherwise direct him to do so. I have a photo of him lying under the check-in desk with his head on the floor, completely disinterested by the hundreds of people around us, minding his own business as he is trained to do unless he needs to alert someone, and waiting for my next command. I wasn’t screaming — I was instead crying and simultaneously begging the ticket agent to speak to the CRO so that I could explain which tasks Leo is trained to perform. Many people’s voices become a bit elevated in sound when they are emotional or upset — and it often has nothing to do with mental illness.

Federal law states that staff are not allowed to require that the dog demonstrate its tasks or inquire about the nature of a service dog handler’s disability. The reason for this is that it’s considered a civil rights issue to have the same access to entities that a person without a disability is. Allegiant’s insistence that my dog should be performing certain tasks because they feel a situation triggered my PTSD symptoms is neither ethical nor appropriate.

None of the reasons the DOT gives to deny transport to a service dog were applicable to me, my service dog, or our situation. The DOT is clear that the airlines may observe the behavior of the animal. According to the Department of Transportation, an airline cannot legally determine when a service dog should or should not perform its tasks. The law means that observing the behavior of a service dog and noticing whether or not it’s being disruptive, aggressive, or not under the control of its handler is fine — but not making judgments about when it should perform its tasks.

Allegiant Airlines took no responsibility for the situation, refused to acknowledge that I had been mistreated, and refused to compensate me for the plane tickets I had to purchase at the last minute to try to make it to my destination — which would have been much cheaper if I would have been notified ahead of time that they would not let me travel with the airline. The email response I got from them clearly stated all of this.

Allegiant Airlines violated federal regulations about service dogs. Their staff needs to be educated on the regulations about owner training and receive guidance and education on how to treat disabled individuals who have legitimate disabilities and utilize service dogs.

I now feel reluctant to fly with any airline that does not understand the Department of Transportation service dog laws. I will only use airlines that are educated about the DOT’s service dog regulation changes and treat me and my service dog, Leo, with dignity and respect.