# Disabled vet asks for public support, says airline workers kicked his service dog



## Jackie Lockard (Oct 20, 2009)

http://www.dogheirs.com/elleng/post...t-says-airline-workers-kicked-his-service-dog

I had a hard time reading this all the way through. :evil:


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## Michael Swetz (Jul 27, 2009)

And people ask me why I have "Cynic" tattooed on my arm...


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## catherine hardigan (Oct 12, 2009)

Hmmm. Cynicism works both ways. I'm relatively unfamiliar with service dogs... never having owned one or trained one. But all the "official" service dogs I've seen wear some sort of bright orange thing that identifies them as a service animal; the dog in the picture was not wearing one. On top of that I have yet to see an "official" service animal wearing a halti-type head harness; the dog in the picture was wearing one. Such things raise questions about the legitimacy of this service dog.

I don't condone kicking animals without reason, but I also don't think a disabled person who gets a pet can automatically call it a service animal. Don't most airports (and their shuttles) have cameras? I'm sure if this guy wanted to he could get the footage and actually back up his claims. Otherwise it's pretty much hearsay.


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

IF the guys story about multiple delays and being called a retard by someone behind the "customer service" counter are true? 
Then he has a reason to complain. I'm not sure I buy the "two
employees kicked my service dog" story. More likely they tripped over or were startled by her and didn't deliberately kick her?


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

depressing story but pisses me off just a bit too ....

i AM retired vet and i know vets with PTSD personally.
it was hard for me to get thru this frustrated narrative too, but this guy probably isn't ready for flying alone and his dog is probably not sufficiently trained as a service dog, and there are probably thousands of people who go thru what he did every month, especially in stateside airports

re: "When he was on the shuttle the employee "kicked her [Sarge] so hard on the rib cage, that she flew into my lap," 
i HAVE drop kicked a few dogs but never been able to lift em high enuff to make em fly into someone's lap, even if they were sitting down .... since that "service dog" he has is not a chi-pet, looks like pure BS to me IMNSHO

next .... a dog with a muzzle lead, halti, or whatever u wanna call it, is a dog that the owner has difficulty controlling on a lead. a QUALIFIED "service dog" should NEVER need that level of control unless it was in the EARLY stages of training IMNSHO...and in his own words he is a co-founder and sponsor for the "P/S" organization and should know that

in his own words (2:23) "i was up against the wall at the ticket counter" ???? 
.... sorry, people are no longer allowed to hang up against the ticket counter walls waiting for a flight in any airport i've ever been in ....

then at about 2:36 ....
"one of em was startled, turned and kicked my service dog" ???? 
really ???? get real .... "something" "STARTLED" and made the person "TURN"... obviously it was either something the dog "SAID"(aka: bark or growl ??) or something the guy said ...otherwise the person had eyes in the back of their head

re: the vid when the dog is on the plane at about 16:03 .... "shaking like a leaf...respirations are out of control" WTF ???? ... than i guess i better go out right now and take my dog to the nearest Vet ER 

and sorry you had problems with your dog while you two were in cramped crowded spaces ... MOST decent owners with a service dog would be looking out for their dog and asking people around them to give it some space PROACTIVELY, rather than allowing them to close in and maybe startle the dog ... piss poor handling her IMNSHO

the reality is that airports can be a PITA for anyone...lost luggage, flight delays and less than stellar airline personnel is COMMON and should be EXPECTED.....if you have trouble dealing with it, fly with someone who can assist you or stay home. a service dog can only do so much

but i'm sure he can still sue someone and get a few bucks out of the whole ordeal .... or maybe he is totally right and i am totally wrong in my assessment  

nevertheless, vet PTSD is a BIG problem that will probably only get worse ... i think we've only seen the tip of the iceburg, and VERY depressing to see it dealt with poorly at any level


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## Jackie Lockard (Oct 20, 2009)

I can't recall ever seeing a SD wear orange (mine usually wear red), but that's frankly up to the owner. By law they don't even need to wear identification. For obvious reasons I think it's stupid to not have the dog wear a vest. Either way, it's clear as day in the photo and video that this particular animal was clearly labelled as a working dog. I didn't see anything that made me think he just slapped a vest on his pet.


_"kicked her [Sarge] so hard on the rib cage, that she flew into my lap,"_
I assume that the dog was scared and jumped, not that she turned into a canine football. The latter seems pretty stupid. So does the judgments on the use of anything other than -- what? -- a flat collar? From what you've said that means that every time I put a pinch collar on my dog it means that I'm correcting it or that it's out of control??? No. It's just what I choose to use while walking my dog. Some people think that collars are dangerous and utilize other means. Not my thing, but I'm not going to judge them just for having it on their dog. And frankly, does it actually matter if the dog is still "in training" or "graduated"? A service dog is a service dog is a service dog.

I didn't watch the video (just skipped to the part where it showed the dog at 15:whatever), and I'm not going to just to have a viable comment on the rest. I did re-skim the article though and can't find one reference to the guy trying to sue and make a buck out of the situation? He opened a complaint as far as I saw, not a lawsuit? I also re-watched the part of the video showing the dog and it sure does mimic a dog who has just been scared and confused.

Yea, two different employees kicking the same dog seems unlikely. Very possible that at least one of them was a trip or whatever. Also really possible that by the time the guy got through the rest of the bad trip he was hyper-sensitive to anything going wrong (PTSD). I've heard of similar (and worse) done to service dog handlers. And customer service is what it is.


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## catherine hardigan (Oct 12, 2009)

Jackie Lockard said:


> I can't recall ever seeing a SD wear orange (mine usually wear red), but that's frankly up to the owner. By law they don't even need to wear identification. For obvious reasons I think it's stupid to not have the dog wear a vest. Either way, it's clear as day in the photo and video that this particular animal was clearly labelled as a working dog. I didn't see anything that made me think he just slapped a vest on his pet.
> 
> yadda... yadda... yadda...


Airports and their shuttle services have cameras. If this guy is being honest then his claims can be backed up with evidence, otherwise it's hearsay. This particular article presents zero evidence. 

Like I said, just because a disabled person gets a pet doesn't make it a service animal. According to this guy's website, his group allows veterans with PTSD to choose a shelter dog, and then the new owner trains the dog with the help of two trainers. These two trainers, a husband/wife team, don't seem to have any qualifications as trainers other than they adopted three hyper border collies and taught them to behave. However, they refer to their training as the "Dillender Method." 

The gentlemen in the article trained his dog, Sarge, himself (with the help of the Dillender Method) after he picked her out of a shelter.

Sorry, but this dude seems pretty clueless. So does his dog.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

over here access to a service dog being trained are vastly different than a certified service dog ... but i'm talking Japan, and even certified service dogs still have problems gaining access to some areas :-(

even if i could and wanted to "self train" my own service dog i would still want it checked by a professional outfit with a long established record of training service dogs.

strange, but it almost seems like in the states if you DIY, all you have to do is call yourself a service dog training company of some sort, and then you can buy a vest for your dog and you are good to go anywhere ... that doesn't seem too consistent
....i've seen many military families who bring their "xxxVest" over with their dog that obviously wasn't trained or qualified for what the vest said on it :-( 
.... the cops over here WILL question a dog wearing a "service type" vest and the conversation always starts out friendly, but usually ends up not being so friendly and the vest comes off 

do they make "personal protection" service dog vests ??


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

rick smith said:


> even if i could and wanted to "self train" my own service dog i would still want it checked by a professional outfit with a long established record of training service dogs./QUOTE]
> 
> Rick,
> 
> ...


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## catherine hardigan (Oct 12, 2009)

Thomas Barriano said:


> I totally agree. It's like decoying your own PPD. You can do it BUT it isn't a smart idea.
> Way too many people slapping vests on their dogs that have no reason or rights to do so :-(


Not to mention the fact that not all dogs have the inborn traits to be service dogs... just as not every dog can be a psd.

I think letting people who may or may not know anything about dogs (or choosing dogs with the appropriate character for any kind of work) pick their own "service dog" out of an animal shelter is a bad idea.

Having these individuals train their own dogs, even with help from trainers, is also unwise. The fact that the trainers in this instance have dubious qualifications only makes matters worse. All in all, it seems like neither this guy or his dog have much of a clue, and now his ignorance may be causing problems for others. Great.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

Catherine re: "Not to mention the fact that not all dogs have the inborn traits to be service dogs... just as not every dog can be a psd."

very good point ...

my dog has recently been allowed into a local hospital to visit a guy he knows who recently had a stroke ... the guy had previously had a leg amputated and my dog knew him when his wife would take him around in the wheel chair and we would come up to him...guy really loved my dog because my dog would lay his head on his one good leg while he was in his wheel chair...hospital staff likes him and said my dog could visit other patients but i declined
-although my house dog probably has better OB than most service dogs and is always under control, he is NOT really sociable and would not be a good therapy dog or service dog

i'm SURE there are disabled people with pets who think their "service" dog will get along with other people with problems just because they get along with them and a few close friends.....

--- for me it is a quantum leap to make that assumption and never a good idea to do so


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