Passenger blasted for bringing ‘emotional support’ Great Dane on airplane: ‘This sât is getting out of hand’
The sight of this ruff rider gave a flight attendant paws — and her scowl is now breeding contempt online.
Emotional support pets come in all shapes, sizes and species.
But when a gigantic Great Dane accompanied its owner onto a small jet for a recent flight, one cabin crew member’s grimace made it clear that canine wouldn’t be receiving much puppy love while flying the friendly skies.
“Have we taken this support animal thing too far?” asked Rob, a content creator, in an Instagram clip of the huge hound accidentally stepping on the flight attendant’s foot while boarding the aircraft.
“Ow!,” yelped the unidentified blonde as she cut her eyes at the four-legged traveler, who then lumbered towards the back of the plane.
The viral vid fetched 4.8 million views from a split virtual audience, who debated whether the flight attendant overreacted or if the super-sized pooch — of a breed that can weigh between 140-175 pounds per the American Kennel Club — should have been crated beneath the plane.
“Did it really hurt? Was it really ‘Ow’ or are you trying to prove a point?” barked a commenter, questioning the skyway staffer’s apparent aggravation.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete even weighed in, saying: “Oh my God, that flight attendant pissed me off. That big baby can sit next to me.”
Doggy detractors, however, argued that pets on planes are just a doggone nuisance.
“So the person who has an anaphylaxis allergy to pet dander can what? Hold their breath the entire flight?” spat a naysayer.
“I love dogs but this s- -t is getting out of hand,” a critic groaned.
“Emotional support for one person, emotional distress for hundreds!” another added. “This is ridiculous.”
An equally peeved griper simply said: “Dogs do not belong on planes.”
The US Department of Transportation, however, recently moved to tighten regulations around flying with emotional support critters, insisting that only trained service dogs should be permitted to cruise the clouds with their disabled owners.
“The days of Noah’s Ark in the air are hopefully coming to an end,” cheered Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. The push for new limitations came after airline passengers tried getting away with passing off peacocks and snakes as emotional support companions.
But it seems dogged pet lovers, such as the guy with the Great Dane, are still coming up with creative ways to get their fur balls, feathered friends and reptilian pals prime seats at 30,000 feet.
Bartholomew, a four-foot boa constructor, was found stashed away in his owner’s luggage just before catching a flight out of Tampa International Airport last Christmas. The scale-covered stowaway was detected in during a TSA x-ray scan of the unnamed woman’s bag.
“There’s a danger noodle in that bag… Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find this hyssssssterical!,” the TSA said in an Instagram post.
“Coiled up in a passenger’s carry-on was a 4’ boa constrictor! We really have no adder-ation for discovering any pet going through an x-ray machine.”