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Emotional support hamster flushed at airport.
#1
I have no idea how to label this or explain what happened. It is part of the conflict between airlines and people wanting to travel with emotional support animals. This issue blew up when someone tried to travel with an emotional support peacock.  United Airlines refused to accommodate the animal.

This time it is Spirit Airlines and a passenger traveling from Baltimore to Florida. She wanted to bring an emotional support dwarf hamster on the plane and was refused even though she claims she was told she could bring the hamster. She claims the airline employees told her to flush the hamster. That is what she did because she thought it was the humane thing to do.

The airline says it never told her to flush the hamster.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/02/08...leges.html

https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/stu...ation.html


At no point could flushing a hamster be considered a humane action! Whether the airline actually told her to do it or not, it is a cruel action. It would have been a horrible death and probably not a quick one.

There are two issues here. One is airlines and their emotional support animals policies. I think they need to come up with some clear rules that people can understand. If they are going to accommodate support animals they need to specify when and under what conditions. If there are animals that they will not permit on their planes they need to clearly state that. If there are types of animals or sizes of animals that they cannot accommodate they need to state that. The hamster incident is a result of unclear rules and a lack of clear understanding on the part of the airline staff.

The other issue is emotional support animals. There is no doubt that there are emotional support animals and other types of working animals that are part of people's lives. These animals do need special accommodation when it comes to airplanes and other public places. What constitutes and emotional support animal? Can any pet be called an emotional support animal. 
Our pets are a support to us, but are they actual working animals who deserve special privileges.

It is a little hard to consider a peacock an actual trained support animal. I would question using a dwarf hamster as an emotional support animal. They have a life span that seldom exceeds 24 months and is often only 18 months. They are nocturnal and they hibernate in the winter. They are adorable and entertaining, but they are not focused on the humans in their lives the way a dog would be. 

Perhaps while the airlines are assessing their new policies, somewhere the concept of emotional support animal needs to be better defined and regulated.

I wish I had been at the airport. I would have taken the hamster home. Surely someone there could have helped.
What was done could never have been the right choice. The little hamster deserved better from the humans around her. Angry
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Catherine

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#2
I agree totally that it is time to clarify the rules for airlines regarding what support pets are or are not allowed (including sizes as well as animal types). Clarity abolishes confusion.

I am afraid to say that I am not impressed with the behaviour of this young lady. There are some questionable aspects to her side of the account, too. Why couldn't she go on the train, even if several changes were necessary? Why not put off her journey for a few days, in order to find someone who could look after the hamster? If this hamster was an emotional support animal, which the doctor certified, then if she depends so heavily on the animal to survive, why did she choose to end its life in such a cruel way? She cancelled her flight, so why didn't she then take the poor animal - which she clearly valued less than going to visit her parents - to an animal refuge? There are lots in Florida; she only had to ask around or look at Yellow Pages.

I also doubt her story about the airline telling her to flush the hamster down the toilet. That is too bizarre for a check-in clerk to say. But even if (extremely unlikely) that story is true, she didn't have to follow that suggestion. She says that she spent a long time crying in the toilet before carrying out the deed - so she knew that it was wrong. It would seem that she decided to put her desire to visit her parents quickly above any need to look after her so-called essential, emotional support animal. It just doesn't add up, IMHO.

A very sad story. I hope that this young lady does not get another pet soon, without fully realising that having one brings serious responsibilities. Taking legal action against the airline will not bring the poor hamster back. She would do better to search her own soul and spend time in humble regret for what she has done.
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#3
Sorry but....unbe-freaking-lievable!
My own opinion only.

That dwarf hamster was supposed to be her "emotional support animal", and yet she flushed it  because airline staff (might have?) suggested it?
She flushed it away? To presumably half drown, and then fall from however-many thousands of feet to the ground?

Whatever is the matter with that poor girl I don't know. Whoever said what, the fate of that hamster was up to her and she did that.
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#4
I agree the story doesn't fully add up. There were numerous things she could have done other than flushing the hamster.
Why didn't she phone someone and ask for help. She has friends and parents. Someone could have given her good advice.
I have no idea whether an airline staff said anything or not. You are right that she didn't have to do it. There are trains and buses. If she didn't have the money her parents could have prepaid things for her. They could also sent her money. She must have had a cell phone. There were so many possibilities.  I hate to think of a little dwarf hamster being treated like that.

Clearly airlines need to sort out their policies towards support animals. I can see why they can't take some animals on an airplane in the cabin. Some animals are just to big to safely have loose in a confined space. I don't know why they don't allow rodents.

I am wondering what doctor would sign off on a dwarf hamster as a support animal. Usually a support animal has some training and works with the person to keep them steady. Many of these so called support animals are just pets that a person wants to have around. They may feel emotional support from the animal, but it is not really an actual support animal. If we don't draw the line between pet and support animal we will find that support animals will lose all their hard earned rights. Right now support animals can be in areas that pets are not allowed. If there is a problem then that privilege will cease.

I was stunned when I read about the hamster. It just doesn't seem possible that someone flushed a live hamster.
If she had left it at home with lots of food an water it would have been okay on its own.
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Catherine

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#5
It is very sad. I wonder if that woman is unwell mentally. That might be the case.

I agree with what you say. It's important to make the distinctions between actual "support animals" and those whom we just like to have with us because they make us feel better. It's an important distinction, or service animals could end up llosing rights.
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#6
This is becoming a serious issue. People are showing up everywhere with pets claiming they are support animals. These untrained animals behave badly and disrupt places like restaurants. Now places are less willing to have real service animals come in. 
How are these people getting letters from doctors verifying the animal as a support animal. What doctor would sign off on a dwarf hamster? I love the little dwarfies, but they are hardly an emotional support animal. I wonder if some of the letters are fake. Maybe there needs to be some kind of authority that issues papers for support animals.

The young woman must have some kind of issues. She seemed unable to made a reasonable decision when faced with a problem.
She did the most unacceptable and cruel thing possible. Now she wants to blame the airline.  I don't know if they have any responsibility here.
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Catherine

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#7
(02-11-2018, 04:33 PM)Catherine Wrote: She did the most unacceptable and cruel thing possible. Now she wants to blame the airline.  I don't know if they have any responsibility here.
This is a perfect example of the "blame culture" which is now prevalent, especially in the USA but which also exists almost anywhere these days. Hire a lawyer, sue someone, when something goes wrong - even if the blame lies elsewhere.

This young lady is suing the airline, but even in the highly unlikely event that the suggestion of flushing the hamster is true, she - and only she - did the deed, knowing it to be wrong. She should be spending some days blaming herself, not hiring lawyers and seeking publicity.
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#8
I agree, LPC. Nobody "makes" you do anything, even if they suggest it. Whatever we do, we do of our own volition (unless in a hostage situation or similar).
That would not stand in court anyway. It would be thrown out, in my opinion.
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#9
Quote:This young lady is suing the airline, but even in the highly unlikely event that the suggestion of flushing the hamster is true, she - and only she - did the deed, knowing it to be wrong. She should be spending some days blaming herself, not hiring lawyers and seeking publicity.
Your right, it is a perfect example of the blame culture. Everything must be someone else's fault. She really messed up, but she wants it to be someone else's fault. I agree that it won't hold up in court. At least I hope it won't.

I think no one would even know about this if she wasn't telling everyone and making it a public issue.

The result of this case will be stricter rules for emotional support animals on airplanes. 

It is certainly a hot topic.
I haven't found the article, but I have letters in response to it. It is interesting to hear the different views on the subject.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/opini...-pets.html

Here is the link to the original article. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/opini...acock.html

He makes some very good points.

At least one airline has set up new guidelines.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content...imals.aspx


Hopefully this will sort itself out and no more animals will be endangered. There is no doubt that some people were scamming the system. I am sorry this didn't happen soon enough to save a little hamster from a cruel death. 

A peacock is a big animal. I wouldn't have wanted to share a seat with it. I love peacocks, but loose in an airplane seems like a bad idea.
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Catherine

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