Fowl Play — Passenger Brings Emotional Support Turkey on Plane

[flamingdem]

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/fowl-play-passenger-brings-emotional-support-160550372.html

In what sounds like the set up for a bad joke, a turkey and a man walked onto a plane.

Surprisingly, this not a joke.

On Sunday, passengers on a Delta Airlines flight were shocked when a turkey boarded their plane.

Capturing this shocking moment was Reddit user biggestlittlepickle who posted a photo with the caption, “My neighbour is a flight attendant. He just posted this photo of someone’s ‘therapy pet,’ on his flight.”

These days, it’s a common occurrence to see people flying with an emotional support animal. These pets are a therapeutic tool for travelers, and can help to alleviate anxiety or assist those with a disability.

In most cases, support animals are cats or dogs because they are cuddly and protective — just as a support animal should be.

But turkeys aren’t the first animal you would associate with comfort. Still, there it was on the plane, and after the flight, another passenger snapped a photo of it riding a wheelchair through the airport.

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/y2sJvgrdDaQ5s5eMnamrlA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NzIwO2g9OTYwO2lsPXBsYW5l/

Here's how Gobbley gets around the airport:

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/348vsvPXfJxvZAD_2aj0lw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NDUwO2g9ODAwO2lsPXBsYW5l/

[Jim Beard]

1. Its a good thing the flight wasn't sold out to capacity.

[pinboy3niner]

2. It's a good thing he didn't bring a support door buzzard

It would have had to go as carrion baggage.

[flamingdem]

3. Snort!

Well and there's also this:

Pig Asked to Leave Plane For Being Disruptive

(When pigs fly!)

A woman carrying a large pot-bellied pig was asked to remove her animal from the plane after boarding a US Airways flight out of Connecticut with it on Wednesday.

The animal weighed approximately 70 lbs.

Passenger Jonathan Skolnik, told ABC News he initially thought the pig was a duffel bag, given the way it was slung over the woman’s shoulder.

"But it turns out it wasn’t a duffel bag,” he said. “We could smell it and it was a pig on a leash.”

“She tethered it to the arm rest next to me and started to deal with her stuff, but the pig was walking back and forth. I was terrified, because I was thinking I’m gonna be on the plane with the pig,” Mr Snolnik said.

American Airlines, told ABC News that the passenger brought the pig aboard as an emotional support animal.

[NBachers]

6. I'd have demanded the police: "Arroast 'er."

If that thing was sitting next to me, I would've been stewing in my own juices.

[pinboy3niner]

7. Wattle you have--white meat or dark?

[NBachers]

13. I like the cut of your giblet.

Johnny Otis "Turkey Hop"

[meow2u3]

21. Would you like ham or bacon?

[trusty elf]

16. .....

[img][/img]

[malaise]

17. Bwaaaaaaaaaaah

You're too good - really

[SheilaT]

4. Did the guy have documentation that

the turkey is a support animal? Was it trained so it didn't defecate on the plane?

Real support animals need to be trained and under good control at all times. A lot of people just decide they need some support animal and declare it so. Which was apparently the problem with the pig, and with a surprising number of "support" animals.

I attend a conference every year where one attendee has an emotional support dog. Actually, the current one is her second, and both are wonderful dogs, well trained, well behaved, and a joy to be around.

[flamingdem]

8. I wonder if they can do this with just a doctors note

and true that turkey needed to have diapers on!

Something is missing from this story.

[SheilaT]

9. Yes, definitely something missing from the story.

[Jim Beard]

14. I saw two small dogs on my last trip

I sat by one who was a very sweet schnauzer but was not a support animal. She had a great disposition. While waiting for another plane I saw a young girl with a dog on a leash past the TSA screening and a toddler stepped toward the dog and the young girl said "she bites". Her and her dog should have bee kicked out then.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Seeing Eye Dog

Period.

Beyond that, find another way.

Oh, I'm sure I'm a fucking asshole.

[kiva]

10. It's a popular scam.

Erin, who preferred not to give her full name, lives with her boyfriend and their dog, Bo, in Los Angeles. She went online to buy a service vest for her pooch, because she wanted to avoid the fees charged by airlines for non-service animals - in the region of $90-$150 (£60-£100) to fly, one-way. Unlike working animals, they must be restrained in a container for the entire flight.

Erin, who is not disabled, travels everywhere with Bo because she says she can not bear to leave him home alone.

"I just love him so much, it's crazy," she says.

For $150, she purchased from a website a vest and certificate, stating that Bo is a full service dog.

She says she feels guilty about cheating the system, but adds that she has a number of friends who behave in the same way.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31646970

[flamingdem]

11. Maybe the turkey on the plane was a stunt to bring attention to bogus

therapy animal / service animal claims. Dogs are everywhere now, what is up with people that they want to bring Rover everywhere? What if everybody did it? What if they were turkeys and bisons?

[kiva]

12. Another article I read said that most of the time

the owner was supposed to keep the animal on their lap, which pretty much ruled out emotional support rhinos...now that was a mental picture

[yellowcanine]

20. "She says she feels guilty about cheating the system"

Oh that's big of her. How about cheating the rest of the air travelling public who pay more for their tickets when enough people do this?

[LeftyMom]

15. Turkeys are awesome. Human babies should definitely fly crated in cargo. Too loud and smelly.

I'll keep this in mind if I need to fly anywhere with the Emotional Support Mastiff. A vest is a hell of a lot cheaper than an XXL skykennel.

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. Poor turkey. Being hauled about. Saw lady onbus with her Two companion cats. she hauled

Them with her around toen in one of those enclosed buggy things

[pinboy3niner]

19. "Hey, lady! Don't look now but I think some cats ate your baby!"

[dembotoz]

22. did it gooble down the airline food?

[dembotoz]

23. usually you get arrested if you have your pecker out on a plane

[flamingdem]

24. In answer to your question looks like it's legal to have your pecker on a plane

and not only that it's expensive to deny someone.

from another article:

But airlines face fines as high as $150,000 for refusing requests for legitimate support animals, and as those requests increase, so does the threat of a lawsuit.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/01/15/turkey-ruffles-feathers-about-emotional-support-animals-on-flights/