YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Emotional support animals may no longer be allowed on airplanes. The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing changes to classify emotional support animals as pets, and not as service animals.
The owner of Wally, the emotional support alligator in York County, said he understands the proposed rule.
There aren't many places Wally isn't welcome.
"Wally goes to a barber shop in Dover," Joie Henney, his owner, said. "He goes to Dollar General stores, he goes to different restaurants, he goes to Lowes in Eastern York."
Nevertheless, Joie is used to the stares.
"I have people that are not animal friendly at all," Henney said. "They stand at a distance and I respect that."
Henney has a letter that states he can take Wally on an airplane, but the U.S. Department of Transportation wants to change the rules to define emotional support animals as pets, and not service animals. It would give airlines discretion on how to treat each case.
Service animals would be defined as only trained dogs that help a person with a disability. And though Wally is friendly, has never hurt anybody, and let's anyone hold him, Henney said he understand the proposed rule.
"Just because I'm going through a mental state, doesn't mean that I have to make other people uncomfortable because of my condition," Henney said. "So it's hard for me to say yes or no. If I had a smaller animal, and it would help me a little bit, I might try and take them on. My train of thought is not everybody is okay with that. Not everybody is okay with animals."
And though Henney's reasons are purely out of respect for other passengers...
The U.S. Department of Transportation hopes the new rule will reduce the number of people on airplanes trying to claim their pets as service animals by calling them emotional support animals.
At the end of the day, it would still be up to each individual airline to determine what animals they want to allow on board.
Now the U.S. Department of Transportation is asking you to weigh in on the proposed changes. You have until April 6th to submit your comments.
You may file comments identified by the docket number DOT– OST–2018–0068 by any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: (202) 493–2251. Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket number DOT– OST–2018–0068 or the Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for the rulemaking at the beginning of your comment. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided
If a person lies and says their pet is a service animal, that could be a federal crime.