Quote:
Originally Posted by mmiakisu
I told her that she shouldn't be in customer service after she verbally attacked me telling me that I had an attitude and a person with my attitude shouldn't be handling a dog.... at that point, I had had enough and told her that she shouldn't be in customer service for the way we were treated by her.... Also, agree that I shouldn't have posted her name due to safety issues. I will edit that out. I am still beside myself and have written UsAirways and US Department of Transportation.
|
Which was my point. Be the better person and don't stoop to their level. No matter how poorly you are or think you are being treated to tell someone that they don't belong in the job they are doing is insulting, demeaning and rude. Even though they may have been insulting, demeaning and rude to you returning it in kind will never improve a situation. Tell a supervisor, manager, or write a letter. It's not your job to discipline the employee. Let their own chain of command handle that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmiakisu
I should have clarified. The dog is a service/therapy dog.
|
Ding, score one for The_Judge and I.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmiakisu
With a service/ therapy dog, the dog is to stay with the handler.
|
Wrong. And this is was probably the catalyst for everything that happened. Unless a service animal is being trained then it should be traveling with the person for whom it is providing "assistance." If the dog wasn't going to sit with your mother then it wasn't being utilized as a service animal on the flight and therefore should have been classified as a pet traveling in the cabin for which you should have paid the pet fee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmiakisu
This is what is stated on the the back of his dog tag license "Therapy Dog refers to a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental institutions, schools and stressful situations. Therapy animals provide animal contact to numerous people who may or may not have disabilities. A therapy animal works in animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy. It is usually the personal pet of its handler, and typically works with its handler in attendance during sessions. Visiting animal-handler teams are the most common source of therapy animals."
|
My mother's dog is a therapy animal and she takes her to the local hospital and nursing home to perform that function. She does not, however, expect special status when traveling with her dog since while on the plane the dog is not "in service."
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmiakisu
My mother is hearing impaired and needs a wheelchair to get around due to hip replacement. She also had a stroke. The dog does help her with her therapy emotionally for she is a very nervous person. The dog also alerts her of any noises. Additionally, being that the dog hadn't flown since he was trained as a puppy, I wasn't sure how he would respond with me not in his presence. Since we always work as a team.
|
Most dogs will alert their owner, hearing impaired or not, of unusual noises. Nothing special there. You were on the same plane. After reaching cruise altitude you could have periodically checked on your mom and the dog. Even if that wasn't possible the flight from Richmond to Charlotte is just over an hour long. I'm sure she would have been fine for that amount of time and the FA sounded friendly and would have kept an eye out for her.