Emotional support animals are companions that a medical professional has prescribed as helpful to someone with a disability. These animals are usually regular pets like dogs, cats and occasionally rabbits or guinea pigs. Many airlines recognize that flying causes great anxiety to many people, and so allow emotional support animals to fly aboard planes with their humans.
Like all nice, good and helpful things however, there are always people that will go too far and ruin it for everyone else. This list, compiled by Bored Panda, is a series of times when people brought unusual, unnecessary and just frankly ridiculous animals along for their ’emotional support,’ and while some here have a genuine need, many are just abusing a concept that has a real purpose for many people.
Scroll down to see what we mean for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments.
#1 Duck On Flight
Daniel the Duck is a certified emotional support animal, who helps his owner Carla Fitzgerald battle the post traumatic stress disorder. “Everyone just took notice of him and fell in love,” Fitzgerald told ABC News. “I mean, he’s an adorable, funny and sweet little guy. He was very well behaved at the airport and during the flight.”
Image source: Mark Essig
#2 Pony On An Flight
Flirty The Mini Service Horse (a.k.a. Flirty) is a miniature horse who is a service animal. She is a very small miniature horse, standing only 27 inches tall and weighing just over 130 lbs, who loves attention and helping her disabled owner/handler, Abrea Hensley. Abrea is allergic to dogs and has post-traumatic stress disorder, so she takes Flirty everywhere she goes. The little mare reminds Hensley to take her medication and provides support when she becomes overwhelmed
Image source: Flirty The Mini Service Horse, FlirtyTheSH
#3 Emotional Support Peacock, Trying To Board A Flight From Newark To L.a
This woman brought along her emotional support peacock for her flight to L.A. from Newark Airport. It didn’t go well. Despite being warned three times that Dexter the peacock would not be allowed to travel with her, conceptual artist Ventiko showed up at the airport anyway. Dexter was promptly turned away by United Airlines
Image source: dexterthepeacock, thejetsettv
#4 ‘Emotional Support’ Pig Kicked Off Flight For Being Disruptive
Woman has been kicked off her plane for bringing a 70-pound pig on board for ’emotional support’. She made it to the plane and was sitting with the pig on her lap, however, before long, the pig was reported as being ‘out of control’ and disruptive. So the passenger was asked to get off.
Image source: @ianbremmer
#5 Pig On Flight
Image source: goldboxatl
#6 My Friend Had An ‘Emotional Support Turkey’ On Her Flight To Seattle
Easter the turkey was Jodie Smalley’s support animal. Smalley found it ‘as a shivering chick standing in the road on Easter Day’, hence the name. “Easter came to me as a tiny poult at an emotionally difficult time in my life being in a mentally abusive and failing marriage,” Smalley explained
Image source: averym88
#7 Monkey Business! Meet Gizmo Who Stirred All That Trouble On A Las Vegas Bound Frontier Airlines Flight
Marmoset Gizmo got through TSA screening and boarded a Frontier Airlines flight from Columbus, Ohio to Las Vegas. Gizmo’s owner, Jason Ellis, didn’t warn other passengers or crew about his emotional support pet, so their surprise when Gizmo started poking its head out of Ellis’s shirt was understandable. Gizmo was never loose on flight and stuck to owner’s shirt the entire time.
Image source: nateoneal
#8 When My Mom Has A Kangaroo On Her Flight As An “Emotional Support Animal”
Image source: DevinnZeller
#9 Monkey Helper
Richard, a bonnet macaque monkey, belongs to Debby Rose, who suffers from agoraphobia, the fear of places and situations that causes panic, helplessness, or embarrassment. She brings her monkey everywhere and will even drive with him in the front seat.
Image source: Rebecca Skloot
#10 Woman Removed From Flight To Cleveland With Emotional Support Squirrel: ‘You Will Not Take My Baby’
A passenger was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight when she attempted to fly with her “emotional support” squirrel and then refused to get off the plane when she was told no, according to the airline. A Frontier spokesman said in a statement that the passenger had alerted the airline that she would be bringing an emotional-support animal on the flight but did not mention it would be a rodent. “Rodents, including squirrels, are not allowed on Frontier flights,” the statement read. “
Image source: fox8news
#11 There Is Such A Thing As A Service Pony And I Want One
Image source: Alancumming
#12 Emotional Support Kangaroo
“A customer tried to bring a baby kangaroo on the plane as a service animal,” a retired airline customer service agent with 18 years of experience told Business Insider.
Image source: ShawnReynolds_, twitter.com
#13 Don’t Act Like You’ve Never Seen A Therapy Turkey Going Through Airport Security
This emotional support turkey was spotted at San Francisco Airport.
The turkey was seen going through security sometime last week by KTVU journalist Frank Somerville, who shared the story to his Facebook page.
According to the post, the turkey is an emotional support animal for a woman who lost her husband. The woman takes the turkey everywhere with her, and it even sleeps with her at night.
Image source: Frank Somerville KTVU, Maggie Serota
#14 We’ve Got Cock!! Emotional Support Rooster For. The. Win
Image source: passengershaming
#15 Piggy Pilot. Hoggin’ The Cockpit
Hamlet the Beach Hog is the emotional support animal of Megan Peabody who loves flying, but suffers from anxiety. According to Peabody, having her hog on board makes her feel “more comfortable and provides a lovely distraction.”
Image source: hamlet_the_beach_hog
#16 Just Your Everyday Emotional Support Kangaroo…
Image source: passengershaming
#17 Emotional Support Hamster’s Owner Claimed The Staff Working For Spirit Airlines Told Her That Pebbles Would Have To Be Flushed Down A Toilet
Belen Aldecosea said she contacted Spirit airlines twice to confirm that her emotional support hamster can fly with her. But the animal was refused entry upon arrival, and an employee suggested she flush her pet down the toilet
Image source: @DavidOvalle305
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