Category: Animal House
Meet Doxy, he's a guide dog. Doxy and his owner were on a flight from Philadelphia to Long Island when something amazing happened. After making all the passengers board the plane for the 45 minute flight the plane got stuck on the runway for 2 hours.
Doxy got restless and came up from under his owner's seat, personnel on the plane began to harass Doxy and his owner threatening to cancel the flight if Doxy didn't get back under the seat.
Doxy's owner ended up getting ejected from the flight, and the rest of the passengers left to support him. This is what the owner wrote on his Facebook:
"I cannot believe how humbled I am to know that 35 people got off the plane with me in solidarity. They all got off the plane because it was the right thing to do. They all got off the plane because the flight attendant misrepresented the entire situation. They all got off the plane, because Doxy and I were discriminated against, and mistreated for reasons that are unknown to me.
Thanks again to each and every person who chose to sit on a bus for nearly 4 hours, then take a cab or drive others home after getting back to Long Island, thanks for speaking out to management, thanks for refusing to take that flight home unless I an Doxy were back on the plane, thanks for telling the flight attendant that she was wrong, thanks for asking for her dismissal, and most of all thanks for not taking the easy way out, and turning an intentional blind eye to what happened and flying home without me. The flight was cancelled by all the people who purchased the ticket to fly this evening, and not because of anything due to mechanical failure. It was cancelled due to human kindness."
Awe, cool.
I'm judging only by the wording of this article, so I could be entirely wrong, but it sounds to me like he needed to keep better control of his guide dog. If the dog was just sitting up out of restlessness, I doubt the flight attendant would have even noticed, and he could have just made the dog lie back down. I have to wonder if there was something else going on, like the dog was blocking the aisle. I'm not convinced that the flight attendant kicked him off the plane simply because the dog was sitting up out of restlessness.
It sounds to me like the dog was getting up and trying to wander, or was otherwise in the way. I do think kicking someone off a plane for such a reason is kind of bitchy.
I also have to wonder at the protocols for an animal that's getting restless though. If the attendant was in a position where it was either follow protocol or risk being fired, perhaps she did what she thought would save her job. It's a tough spot to be in if that was the case, and a position that should never have come to pass.
If the dog is actively in the way of other passengers or of flight attendants, then yeah that's a problem, in much the same way as having a hyperactive child careering up and down the aisle is a problem. If you can't control your child, or your dog for that matter, then you may pose something of a safety risk by not doing so, in which case there needs to be some sort of measure to counterbalance the problem.
There's just not enough frame story to tell all the facts though, and it's clearly been phrased and portrayed as the sort of thing meant to depict the team as completely in the right.
Yup, I had the same reaction. If the dog really was just sitting there restlessly, then this is really neat. Otherwise, though, this article is kicking up a lot of fuss over something unfortunate, but not, you know, horrible terrible evil discrimination. I feel like, sometimes, people just take life far too seriously.
I have a very difficult time accepting that the guide dog team is completely blameless in this. I think news media often assumes we're blameless. Having a guide dog on a plane is a huge responsibility. If the blind man in question wasn't keeping control of his dog, I completely support the choice to remove him from the flight. The law says we have a right to have the dog there, not that we have the right for the dog to be a nuisance.
I can't see why the blind guy didn't say "thanks but no thanks" to those 35 people who bought tickets on that flight. That wouda been the right thing to do, I think.
Bob
Especially if he wasn't keeping the requisite control over his dog. Because who wants to be on a flight with an out-of-control dog?
Shhh, say that too loud and we'll have Samuel L Jackson making terrible movies about it. Dogs on a plane. It'll suck.
I have the same feelings as Lightning, but I suppose we'll never know the full story. Having a situation I was in misrepresented by the media in the past, I rarely find myself able to take articles at face value. It does seem odd however that the airline personell would "harass", to say nothing of outright cancelling a flight over this. Is this actually the news article, or is it paraphrased? Because it isn't written very professionally.
Call me cynical but in this day and age I'm not sure if all those passengers really got off in a true show of solidarity. More likely, they were all just annoyed because they had been waiting for two hours and found another option. The fact that the blind guy got kicked off with his dog was probably just the icing on the cake.
It kooked like something that could go on a Hallmark card, or in Bleeders' Digest, or Guidepost Magazine. I'm with the preghious poster on this one. Plus somebody got off because the person next to them did, and talked them into not being "a meany".
But I'm leary about criticizing the blind guy. Granted I'm not a dog user, but if we're not to judge the flight attendant let's not the blind guy all the same. I really hate the dogmatic way people automagically assume the blind guy in any instance must be in the wrong or seeking attention or something else. I know it for real, I grew up with it. I said "automagically," for a reason: it's magic, it's mythology, it's fantasy. Good for your bookstores and chick flicks and nothing else.
X'i entirely disingenuous, and I'v{{?"}}a seen it spattered also over Twitter like the skunk on the road my daughter hit the other day, only it stinks worse than the skunk. The only exception is guide dog users like Cody who gave an actual and thoughtful response. One that made actual sense, at least to meean a dog handler.
I'm glad there was no Facebook, and no Twitter, when I've taken false assumptions like this one straight up the pooper, with only sand for lube.
There is more to the story than we know. Also, even if my dog was on a plane for 2 hours waiting, as long as he was under the seat he would be fine. Something else I find strange is the dif reports. Some say oh he was running down the isles. Then I read that the people got off in a show of support from one place and the people were forced off because the pilot did not want to fly the plane from another. Crazy.
Being a new guide dog user myself, and discovering how Jenny is on planes/long bus trips at this point, I can honestly say that there is more to the story. Whether the team was discriminated against, I don't know... but I gree with others that based on the wording of this article, it sounds like the dog was being a nuisance.
Last weekend, Jenny and I took a 4-hour bus trip. The trip down wich much more challenging than the trip back. The seats are very small, so there was not much room for Jenny to lay down (she sould have been pretty scrunched under the seats), so we wound up with two seats on the bus. She laid down for a little while, and then just sat towards the isle (not in it) to look out of the windshield. She only got in the way when we stopped for 15 minutes and she (1) had to pee and (2) disliked the sound of the bus idling. Even then she was well-behaved and listened to my commands to sit and stay out of the way. On the trip back, she scrunched herself down under the seat and only sat up to watch me when I went to use the washroom.
That being said, it is a HUGE responsibility to transport a guide dog for long periods - bus, plane or train. If the dog was well-behaved and the owner had control, then the flight attendant deserves to lose her job for discrimination; if the handler was not controlling his dog, then shame on him for playing the sympathy card for the rest of us who in the future and flying on airlines.
Kate
And the fact that Jenny is new to guiding in general just speaks volumes. You keep good control even when she doesn't like a certain sound or when something frightens her, so unless the flight attendant really was being a cow, I don't see any reason to feel sympathy for this guide dog team.
I agree with the majority of posts here. This article does not give the whole story in my oppinion. If the dog really was just sitting, there would be no reason to "harass" the handler. This is a media story to get attention, not factual. JMO
I have gone on a few flights with my dog and she stays down. she might lift her head up and look around or role over and grone but she stays down. If she were to get up I could easily just tell her down and she would plop back down. I have and will again in a couple of week go on a long train ride. She too has stayed down on those. I do know though that if she ever were to make a fuss like that, it would be because she had to go to the bathroom and wasn't going to be able to hold it much longer. She would only do this if it is really bad. my expirence at work.
Curious about something. For those of you who have guide dogs, and/or who have had a lot of experience with them, what have you found is the maximum amount of time you can take your animal on a plane or train or whatnot when said transport isn't going to stop? I've seen dogs who can hold it in for six to eight hours, or who'll sleep through the night without an issue, but timing of feeding and such has something to do with that. I guess I'm just wondering about, say, a dog who usually toilets every six hours at least, who is stuck on a trans-Atlantic flight to Australia or something. That's got to be hard.
So personally, I kind of feel like the fact that 35 people got off the plane with him meant that the flight personell were being kind of ridiculous. Perhaps it was a "better option" than being stuck on the unmoving plane, but I nevertheless like the message this sends about mankind, that we got each other's backs. Can't we just be happy about that instead of shitting all over this perfect stranger? We don't know that he was a poor handler, and we don't know if he was a new owner, and we don't know if there were extenuating circumstances (his dog was sick, etc.) So I'm just going to enjoy the message of this stance, and not give a damn about the rest. Just saying.
I think this incident report seems rather dramatic. How exactly people know is 35 people, not 33, or 36 people get off the plane? And, how exactly te report knows that all these 35 people get off the plane because of the Guidedog team, do they seriously interview each of the "35 people"?
There are some excelent guidedog teams around the place, there aare also some teams that is rather on the border line. Doesn't matter if itis the airline fault, or the dog's fault, or anyone else fault. Part of dog guide handler responsibility is able to control the dog, and aable to be the "alpha" figure of the dog. Working a dog guide from the day the guidedog team graduate is not the end of the training, it is only the beginning of the training. Sorry to say, from the impression i have from this article, this handler have no idea how to control the dog, and yes, it is his responsibility, not the flight attendent, or the airline responsibility.
Don't forget, dog guides are meant to be train to stay put on one spot for hours.
SW, you prepare your dog for a flight. For example, you might restrict water for a bit before the flight so they don't have to go to the bathroom. However, there is still a limit to how long they can hold it. I wouldn't want to go over eight hours with my guide dog, and that is pushing it.
itis pretty much case by case base. If you have an early flight, you may want to fast over night and restrict it's water intake. However, if you have an afternoon flight, there is no reason why you can't give the dog an early breakfast.
When you with your dog for sometime, you know you and it's rutine. Most dogs only need to releave about 4 to 6 times a day. If you prep them well enough, flight across the Atlantic shouldn't be a major problem. In fact, i know at least 5 guidedog teams flightacross the pacific in a regular bases. We are talking about at least 12 hours to 16 hours flight?
While I find this story a bit fishy, I have had a few experiences when flying especially in the late 90's and early this decade where flight crews have been extremely rude regarding having a dog guide on board.
One particular situation sticks out in my mind, where by a flight was probably 3 quarters full, and I had previously and purposefully purchased my seat in the bulk head. When I got to the flight however, I was told there was a mother and small child flying and the dog could potentially be a problem, so I was being moved to the very back of the plane. I didn't really mind moving, and trying to be acomidating but we're talking a 4 or 5 hours flight, and so once situated in the back, after landing, we were basically told to stay put until the entire plane was cleared out. Ok, but this dog may need to releave himself! Lucky for us we actually made it off the steps, which were actually outside and there was a 40 or 50 yard walk up to the actual airport, because my boy pead as soon as he was down those steps. This was one instance where spite almost wanted him to just pea in the plane. So I said all that to say there are times where flight staffs have been less than helpful and/or understanding. I've flown probably 80 times with a guide since 1998, and the vast majority of flights have been perfect, but there have been a few where tempers have flown.
As far as releaving on longer flights, My last shepherd would not eat breakfast, so I always tried to leave early.
I do agree with Sarah about not shitting on the dog handler, even though I'm not one for the sappy stories. An old proverb states that a fool judges a matter before hearing it out completely. Dunno where that one comes from, but seoms from what I see on Twitter, there be plenty fools out there.
I, for one, have not heard the matter completely, and I agree with those who who have voiced that sentiment.
On the other hand, the practical matter of how you all prepare your dogs has been quite educational.
Oh I'm not saying we have the whole story at all. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't automatically judge the flight attendant either.
Yes, I think most of these posts have taken into account the fact that we weren't there, we don't know what happened. I just refuse to look at this as either an opportunity to gush over the goodness of mankind (and the poor little blind people of the world) or a chance to look down from my high horse and judge a guide dog team I've never even met.
interesting topic and I have to agree that the article did sound a bit paraphrased but still we don't know this man or dog but do agree that there's got to be more of what occurred as it doesn't sound right but it is true that you are responsible for your dog and of its behaviour and not others who have to do the controlling of the animal.
The thing that I don't like is when some thing like this happens, people then think that all blind people are like that which is not really fair.
i agree, we as dog handlers are responsible for the dogs behaivor. i also know from experience about just how many uneducated folk are out there. so, i take this story with a grain of salt. want to believe in man kinds empathy and compasion. even though i think we are a failure as a lot of homosapiens. grrrr
I agree with a lot of the posters, we shouldn't judge this team. However, good training is certainly very important. Whenever I fly, II always make sure to keep Tripp laying right in front of me, since he's very big, and I get the bulkhead. He's always very well behaved, but I always make sure he stays that way. Because he's a dog, I know anything can happen, so I never let my guard down. I've never had any problem with flight crews, but I guess it depends on what airline your flying, and where your flying to.