[Leatherboy2006]

Came across this article and it broke my heart. I have a service dog and would have kicked the person back who ever harmed her.
Shame on United

http://www.dogheirs.com/elleng/posts...is-service-dog

[Gromit801]

That's one of those sad no win situations. There are people allergic to dogs, and those with a bonafide phobic fear of dogs (to whom no law will work). Up against that, is the ADA.

The agent with the dog fear should have had someone else cover for them. I'm glad the guy was finally helped out.

[mb99fairfax]

This is a disgrace what United has done to this disabled Vet and his service dog. I am disgusted and sickened by now this Vet was treated and we need to make sure this NEVER happens again!
..

The Huffington Post | By Laura Hibbard Posted: 07/22/2012 11:47 am
Updated: 07/22/2012 10:35 pm
..

Jim Stanek, a disabled veteran and Paws and Stripes cofounder, claims United Airlines staff physically abused his service dog, Sarge, and verbally abused him during an unexpected 3-day layover at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C.
..

In a video posted to YouTube detailing the abuses, Stanek says the "nightmare" began on July 15, while he was at the ticket desk.
..

"Some United Airlines employees were moving by and one of them was startled, turned, and kicked my service dog," Stanek says in the video. "Didn't kick her hard, but ... they kicked her."
..

Stanek continues, saying he chalked it up to an accident and let it go -- even when it happened a second time by a different United staffer.
..

The Daily Mail reports Stanek has post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as traumatic brain injury (TBI) following three tours in Iraq, which makes standing in loud crowds and reading difficult. In the video, Stanek states the most traumatic part of the ordeal occurred when, while trying to get a hotel voucher after his flight was canceled for a second day in a row, the man at the ticket counter asked if he was "retarded" -- referring to his inability to stand in the line with everyone else, and read the paperwork.
..

"I completely lost all composure at that point," he said in the video. "I started yelling, I used four letter words ... and I've worked very hard not to be like that."
..

According to the blog Reduced Mobility Right, the U.S. Department of Transportation has opened an investigation into the incident, with the cooperation of the airline.
..

"We are reaching out to the customer directly to discuss the events that he described," a spokesperson for United told Reduced Mobility Rights on July 21.
..

NOTE: the Title of this Post is the name of the YouTube Video Mr. Stanek made recounting this nightmare.

[mb99fairfax]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr93K...layer_embedded

[azstar]

Airline employees are rarely held accountable for their abuse of passengers. And passengers are frequently not blameless or instigate situations that should not occur, and in those cases, you cannot hold an employee responsible when they are threatened. However, if this actually happened the way the passenger described the incident, this employee needs to be disciplined in some way, or terminated.

[mb99fairfax]

In reference to your reply, as a permanently disabled individual I am insulted by your complete lack of empathy. Mr. Stanek suffers from PTSD and TBI from his 3 combat tours in Iraq and was abused by United employees along with having his service dog kicked not once but twice.
.
Even when Mr. Stanek explained his disability to the United customer service employees, most refused to help him and one of them asked if he was retarded. If that gentleman isn’t terminated soon then there's something seriously wrong with United.
.
Our war Vets not only deserve our respect and gratitude for the way they’ve served our country but they’ve more than earned it. And to disrespect and treat Mr. Stanek the way United customer service employees did and to kick his service dog is more than enough justification to immediately terminate these employees. Not only has Mr. Stanek been traumatized by these events, but his service dog Sarge has been so traumatized that she has been taken out of service and will have to undergo 4-8 weeks of additional training to see if she can go back to work.
.
I do take some solace in the fact that the U.S. Department of Transportation has opened an investigation into this incident but more than that, United has to require that all customer service employees be educated on the needs of the disabled. And it would also be great if people like you were also required to undergo education on the needs of the disabled and also how to properly treat the disabled. Your lack of empathy for the disabled and possible disrespect for our war Vets is disturbing and troubling and I do ask that you seek some help as soon as possible.

[azstar]

I did not, in any way, accuse this passenger of anything inappropriate! I said I agreed that the employee needs to be held accountable. I merely stated that, sometimes, the passengers are as responsible as the employee for initiating conflict.

[Leatherboy2006]

And some of us don't like kids but are forced to sit on a plane and listen to them scream, kick the back of our seats
but yet a wounded vets dog is kicked and you sound like you thinks its ok Gromit801????
Shame

[jimworcs]

This is a perfect illustration of how customers are treated within the airline system. The airline has no "memory"... each incident is treated in isolation, so that a customer who in facing three days to make a simple journey that should take hours is treated no better than the customer next to him who is facing their first delay.

Sadly it is all to common, but given the heroic status of this customer, United may be forced to stand up and take notice. Traumatic Brain Injury is a hidden disability which often results in serious problems.... I have worked with people with a brain injury who have been accused of being drunk, told they are "retarded", treated like children and humiliated... this gentleman did everything right. He took the time to tell the staff about his difficulty and why he needed help. Sadly, United seems to only train it's staff how to say no.

On the response by mb99, I think you may have misinterpreted AZStars response. My reading of his post was that he was suggesting that United too often get away with this and the employee should be fired. How is that showing a lack of empathy?

[jimworcs]

welcome back leatherboy, long time no see. This thread overlaps with another, so I will merge them.

[mb99fairfax]

I used the words “lack of empathy” for a reason, and those words came to me immediately upon reading your Reply.
..
I started this post as a call to action (“we need to make sure this NEVER happens again!”) to try and change the way people think about the disabled, to try and change the way people treat the disabled. The actions of some of the United customer service employees in the way they treated Mr. Stanek and Sarge, in the way they treated the disabled, not to mention that Mr. Stanek is a disabled Vet, is unforgiveable, unconscionable. But yet the first words out of your mouth were a copout, an excuse – “Airline employees are rarely held accountable for their abuse of passengers.” And the next thing out of your mouth was – “And passengers are frequently not blameless or instigate situations that should not occur” – so you FIRST thought about blaming the disabled passenger before blaming the callous United employee. And the next thing out of your mouth was – “However, if this actually happened the way the passenger described the incident” says it all: I’M NOT SURE I CAN TRUST THE WORD OF A DISABLED PERSON!
..
So there it is – “lack of empathy” - everything out of your mouth – “lack of empathy”! So instead of trying to fix things, you’d rather give excuses, you’d rather FIRST blame the disabled person before the United employee and your first thoughts are that YOU’RE not sure you can believe the word of a disabled person… Lack of Empathy!

[Gromit801]

Originally Posted by Leatherboy2006

And some of us don't like kids but are forced to sit on a plane and listen to them scream, kick the back of our seats
but yet a wounded vets dog is kicked and you sound like you thinks its ok Gromit801????
Shame

So, English is not your native language? Reading comprehension issues?

Quite a difference between not liking something, and a phobia. Or is the word phobia unknown to you?