Flying with 2 dogs in the same row in a few weeks for the first time and I know I am going to get some stern looks from others on the plane. They have their ESA documentation and everything is set to go, we're in first class at the bulkhead (yay points), and they are extremely well behaved.
I cannot even fathom trying to get a horse onto a plane since I am already playing mental gymnastics with my two dogs.
How do you honestly function day to day if you need to have two dogs with you at all times? Do you work from home? How can you drive without being an emotional wreck?
I'm not trying to be a dick, but I see your post and it causes my brain to short circuit. I don't want you confined to your house, but if you are so fragile psychological and emotionally that you can't function for a few hours without your two dogs at your side should you really be flying?
One is mine, one is my wife's. We both suffer from anxiety and depression.
> I'm not trying to be a dick [...] if you are so fragile psychological and emotionally that you can't function for a few hours without your two dogs at your side should you really be flying?
I'm not the parent, and I'm guilty of being exasperated at people calling their purse dogs "support animals" to get them on planes, BUT...
1) The obvious answer to your first questions: lots of people do work from home, and/or work in dog-friendly locations. Also, lots of people take their dog with them on all car trips including local errands.
2) Re: "can't function for a few hours without your two dogs" -- the FLIGHT is a few hours but unless the dogs are beaming there via transporter, they still need the dogs at the destination!
This sort of comment does no favors to the people who rely on ESAs. Of course every airline is completely competent at the mundane task of keeping living things alive. In fact air travel is safer than certain other forms of travel.
Also, flying is a particularly stressful experience for many people. Specially when you are afraid someone may lose your dog or leave it behind. Being without their dog for a few hours in other situations may be completely fine, though.
What are you talking about? Surely you've seen people who keep dogs as pets. They lead entirely normal lives, for the most part. And you must have also seen people who have not just one dog, but two or more, and they still have a normal life. If you understand that, is it that big of a leap to imagine that some of those people may also have $50 to certify their pets as ESAs?
I cannot even fathom trying to get a horse onto a plane since I am already playing mental gymnastics with my two dogs.