Is that dog (or pig) on your flight really a service animal?
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November 22, 2025

David Favre, a law professor at Michigan State University and editor in chief of its Animal Legal and Historical Center, said fraudulent cases eroded trust about service animals.

“There are many thoughtless, ignorant or arrogant people out there who only think of themselves,” he said. “Abuse is everywhere.”

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Senate Bill S.2738: Air carrier passengers with service animals to adhere to a standard of service animal training
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November 22, 2025

This bill requires the Department of Transportation to establish a standard of service animal behavior training that an individual with a disability shall adhere to in seeking accommodation involving a service animal from an air carrier, including any foreign air carrier, providing air transportation. Any individual who knowingly and willfully makes a false statement to obtain an accommodation involving a service animal from an air carrier is subject to specified criminal penalties.

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Are people abusing the system to get free flights for pets?
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November 22, 2025

So, how easy is it to fake it?

KDKA’s Amy Wadas decided to see how the process works, so she logged onto a website for a company called Certapet in hopes that she could get her 5-year-old cat, Simba, certified to become an ESA animal.

The site is one of several where a licensed medical professional will write an ESA letter for you if you pay a fee. Wadas had to answer a bunch of questions involving her mental health, like whether she felt down or had anxiety in the past week.

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Senate bill introduced to strengthen airline service animal procedures, eliminate emotional support animals on planes
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November 22, 2025

Senator Richard Burr introduced legislation to align the definition of a “service animal” under the Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA) with the definition under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), establish a criminal penalty for making misrepresentations about a service animal, and require federal agencies to establish a standard of service animal behavior training for animals who will be working on an aircraft.

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My dinosaur is a service animal
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November 22, 2025

Service animals have become increasingly common, with many people seen using them on airplanes in recent years. While dogs are the most common, quite a few various kinds of service animals are used and, in this case, Chris Pratt is trying to convince an airline that his old velociraptor pal Blue is actually there for his emotional support. Bryce Dallas Howard is along for the ride and offers up her own justification for allowing a raptor on a plane in this hilarious Jurassic World 2 video.

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These 19 states are cracking down on fake service dogs
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November 22, 2025

“Today, any pet owner can go online and buy a vest for a dog to pass it off as a service animal to gain access to restaurants, hotels and places of business,” said Republican state Rep. Kimberly Ferguson, who introduced the Massachusetts bill. “Their animals aren’t trained and end up misbehaving in these public places, which gives real service dogs a bad name.”

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HUD asks FTC to investigate websites selling assistance animal documentation
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November 22, 2025

Recently, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson wrote to Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Joseph J. Simons and Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Andrew Smith requesting that the FTC investigate certain websites that may be selling assistance animal documentation.

“These certificates are not an acceptable substitute for authentic documentation provided by medical professionals when appropriate,” said Secretary Carson. “These websites that sell assistance animal certificates are often also misleading by implying that they are affiliated with the federal government. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their goal is to convince individuals with disabilities that they need to spend hundreds of dollars on worthless documentation to keep their assistance animal in their homes.”

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DOT disallows Delta ban on pit bulls as service animals
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November 22, 2025

The DOT said in a guidance document on how it plans to enforce regulations of service animals in aircraft cabins that it “views a limitation based exclusively on breed of the service animal to not be allowed under its service animal regulation.”

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Department of Transportation Will Let Airlines Ban Emotional Support Snakes And Rodents
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November 22, 2025

DOT listened to all of the stakeholders, reviewed the law, and laid out guidelines that will allow airlines to balance their operational needs, the comfort needs of all passengers, while ensuring that restrictions put in place don’t preclude having mental health needs met.

While that may not mean the end of passengers getting bitten by poorly controlled and vicious animals, it allows some controls to be put in place that may reduce the frequency and severity of incidents.

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‘He’s A Godsend’: Service Dog Helps Army Veteran With Civilian Life
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November 22, 2025

“I’ve lost a total of 33 friends… a great deal of them in combat, but also quite a few of them to suicide,” Dosedel said. “If they would have had a service dog, they might still be here… saved my life.”

The relationship between man and dog really highlights the fact that well-being goes beyond the physical. It’s mental, it’s emotional, it’s all that put together. That’s what K9s for Warriors is all about.

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