"Emotional Support Turkey" Ruffles Feathers on Airplane

[overedge]

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/passengers-confused-by-emotional-support-1342526091460662.html

I totally understand panic attacks and flying, but I must admit I've never heard of a turkey being an emotional support animal....

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

I've met lots of people who chose turkeys for emotional support.

 

[PeterG]

If staff wanted the bird removed, would they have had to tell the passenger to pluck off?

 

[nlloyd]

Honestly, I would need emotional support if I had to endure a flight with a turkey next to me.

 

[Cachoo]

That is hilarious. I think I would have giggled the whole flight if I found I was sitting next to a turkey.

 

[Impromptu]

I saw that last week! A friend of mine who is a Delta Flight Attendant posted it on Facebook. He wasn't working on that particular flight, and his only comment was that he hoped it wasn't a flight that was serving turkey sandwiches.

 

[Japanfan]

What kind of emotional support does a turkey provide, exactly? A turkey obviously could not be the eyes for the blind. I can't imagine that a turkey would be able to detect epilepsy, either, or do things that dogs do for handicapped people, like open cupboards and fetch things off the floor.

Does person find it calming to stroke the feathers? Does the turkey gaze adoringly into his or her eyes, like a dog?

 

[Reuven]

I want Dustin as Support Turkey.

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

I haven't held a turkey, but ducks are surprising pleasant to hold. They are soft, warm, and docil. So maybe she felt a stuffed animal would look ridiculous.

 

[Buzz]

If it works for her, then cool.

 

[Wiery]

I just hope the bird was wearing a diaper.

 

[oleada]

OH HELL NO

 

[my little pony]

i've sat next to worse on a plane

 

[Vagabond]

What kind of emotional support does a turkey provide, exactly?

You can talk turkey with it.

 

[Kasey]

i've sat next to worse on a plane

Yep. This. And besides, when it comes to airplane food, I'm sure the bird just gobble gobbled it right down

 

[skipaway]

Support Turkey would've needed its own emotional support if the airline was serving roast turkey sandwiches.

 

[Simone411]

Since they allowed Turkey-Lurkey aboard the plane, it shouldn't be long until Henny-Penny, Goosey-Loosey and Foxy-Woxy join the crowd. All aboard!

 

[PeterG]

If they removed the bird from the plane just before takeoff, would that woman have to go cold turkey?

 

[MacMadame]

What kind of emotional support does a turkey provide, exactly? A turkey obviously could not be the eyes for the blind. I can't imagine that a turkey would be able to detect epilepsy, either, or do things that dogs do for handicapped people, like open cupboards and fetch things off the floor.

Those are all things that service animals do. An emotional support animal just has to make the owner feel better in stressful situations. Which is part of why the concept is so controversial.

A friend of mine has a service dog. It has something wrong with it so she carts it around in this mini-stroller type of thing. It makes me wonder exactly how it can serve if it has its own special needs but I think it's one of the service dogs that can detect when she's about to have a seizure and I guess you don't need to be able to walk to do that. But it's weird.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

o maybe she felt a stuffed animal would look ridiculous.

And a real turkey wouldn't?

I'd opt for a vulture so I could claim it was carrion luggage. The other passengers would probably call fowl, though.

 

[overedge]

I haven't held a turkey, but ducks are surprising pleasant to hold. They are soft, warm, and docil. So maybe she felt a stuffed animal would look ridiculous.

I know someone who takes a stuffed animal on planes with her, for emotional support. She admits that some people give her strange looks, as she's an adult. But I bet a stuffed animal looks less ridiculous than a live turkey...

I just hope the bird was wearing a diaper.

I wondered about this too. From my experience of living in a rural area, turkey poop smells *really* bad. Plus turkeys tend to get spooked really easily - they run around and squawk at anything. Unless the emotional support turkey had a good dose of turkey Ativan before boarding, or if it was just at the whole experience, I can't imagine it sitting still and being quiet for the whole flight.

 

[Japanfan]

A friend of mine has a service dog. It has something wrong with it so she carts it around in this mini-stroller type of thing. It makes me wonder exactly how it can serve if it has its own special needs but I think it's one of the service dogs that can detect when she's about to have a seizure and I guess you don't need to be able to walk to do that. But it's weird.

Did the dog have the handicap when she got it, or develop it later?

If it's a seizure detecting dog, all the dog needs to do is be able to give the signal.

But it might also be a retired service dog. A person can get very attached to a service dog and not want to part with the dog should the dog become unable to perform the required service.

 

[antmanb]

What happens if a passenger on a flight has a phobia of birds. Or if another passenger is allergic to cats/dogs that might be service or emotional support animals?

I've never seen a question about allergies on a preflight passenger information form. How do they balance out the different passengers' needs?

 

[PDilemma]

What happens if a passenger on a flight has a phobia of birds. Or if another passenger is allergic to cats/dogs that might be service or emotional support animals?

I've never seen a question about allergies on a preflight passenger information form. How do they balance out the different passengers' needs?

No one--absolutely no one--gives consideration to people with phobias or allergies when it comes to animals. Hardly anyone, in fact, gives consideration to people allergic to plants/pollen, either.

I have been accused of "hating nature" and "ruining things for everyone else" among other things because of asking that allergens be taken away from rooms I am in.

 

[Artemis@BC]

Well, to quote Arthur Carlson, "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

 

[Cachoo]

Well, to quote Arthur Carlson, "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

Les Nessman will never be forgotten!

 

[oleada]

Emotional support animals are, for the most part, such complete crap.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/pets-allowe

I like animals, but they don't need to be taken everywhere. It's not that great for the animal, either. If I bought an expensive plane ticket and had to spend it next to a turkey, I would be livid.

 

[Anemone]

My first thought when I saw that article, was that if the turkey is an "emotional support" animal, then it is likely that it spends a great deal of time in its owner's house. I just cannot imagine having a turkey in the house.............

 

[PDilemma]

Because I was curious, I did a bit of googling. It would appear that on this site, anyone can register a pet as an "emotional support animal". They have a "mental health professional" that will provide the necessary documentation for a fee.

See the FAQ here:

http://www.esaregistration.org/faq/

The tagline for the site when it came up on google was "Take your dog anywhere!".

What a racket.

 

[overedge]

What happens if a passenger on a flight has a phobia of birds. Or if another passenger is allergic to cats/dogs that might be service or emotional support animals?

I've never seen a question about allergies on a preflight passenger information form. How do they balance out the different passengers' needs?

This story isn't about animal allergies, but it's about accommodating different passengers' "needs". I think a lot of airlines just see who shows up and what passengers need/want accommodation, and go from there (sometimes not too successfully though)
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...tra-orthodox-jew-refuses-to-sit-next-to-woman

IIRC it's almost impossible to have an animal (not sure about a turkey) and someone with animal allergies on the same plane, even if they're not sitting close to each other, because air is recirculated through the plane's ventilation system. So allergens can travel throughout the entire plane, not just in the area around the animal.