We've covered this topic on the show previously: people ordering "service animal" harnesses off the Internet because they don't want to venture out without their pet. The problem is that the animal isn't trained to ignore all the stimuli around it. I've seen "service" animals lunge at people in restaurants and fight with other animals at other public events.
On my show, I talked to one Iowa landlord who told me that apartment hunters are getting around the "no pets" rule by claiming their kitten, bird, dog, etc is a "service animal."
Delta Airlines is banning emotional support animals on flights longer than eight hours. And the airline is banning puppies and kittens on all flights. Delta announced Monday it won't allow animals younger than four months as support animals on any flights, beginning December 18th.
What caused Delta to change its policy? How about an 84-percent increase in reported incidents involving service and support animals over the past two years? Those incidents include animals relieving themselves on flights, biting passengers and crew, and one widely reported attack by a 70-pound dog.
Look for more airlines to put a damper on the exploited rules too.
One wonders if Congress or the state legislature will eventually get involved OR if policymakers will allow individual businesses to deal with what is definitely a problem.