GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — This holiday travel season, you may see fewer dogs at the airport than before.
That's because in 2020, a revision was passed to the Air Carrier Access Act, allowing airlines to no longer consider emotional support animals as service dogs.
Service dogs and emotional support dogs are two different classifications.
"Service dogs go through two and a half to three years of intensive training to become working dogs for their clients with disabilities," said Carrie Simmons, Director of Advancement with Paws With a Cause. "That work is life-saving."
The revision dictates service dogs must be dogs and not other animals, like cats, horses or snakes. She said this is why fewer dogs and animals are seen at the airport.
Do not pet a service dog wearing a vest, unless the owner specifically allows it. Simmons said to always ask the human first.
"We love that our service dogs can be icebreakers for people with disabilities," Simmons said. "But what we would ask is that you please approach the human first. These dogs are doing life-saving work. And if you go immediately to the dog, and you try to pet them and distract them, that could be detrimental to our client."
She said not to be offended if told not to pet, as the dogs need to remain focused, especially in busy areas like airports.
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