A TWO-year-old girl’s new service dog was banned from boarding a flight despite it potentially being able to save her life.
Daisy, a boxer/bulldog mixed breed, was meant to travel from Phoenix to California with Delta Airlines where he was needed for the family.
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Christin Lhautara’s daughter, Mila, was born with Hydrocephalus and was diagnosed with epilepsy at two.
The dog was was donated to the family after the owner became too ill to take care of her.
Christin said in a phone interview: “This dog is a miracle for us.”
“She is going to provide an extra layer of protection for my daughter.
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“She doesn’t have seizures where she shakes and it’s noticeable. Her seizures are silent.
“Her seizures don’t break unless she’s given medication. There no telling what can happen.”
However, after Kim Biggerstaff, who works with Help A Dog Out Rescue in Mesa, Arizona, tried to reserve a Delta flight for the dog, workers with the airline company said Daisy was not allowed on board, despite being a service dog.
Kim said: “If she’s a pit bull breed, we can’t fly it because they had an emotional support dog (ESA) dog maul a stewardess.
“I said that’s discrimination. That’s illegal.
“They said no, we have lawyers on standby. We wouldn’t do this if there were any legal issues that could arouse.
“I said that’s unfair. This is an actual, trained service dog.
“Thousands of dollars went into this dog in training and time and energy, and this dog has been working in her field for three years, Never had an issue.”
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Delta officials told Fox 10: “In 2018, Delta tightened its policies on Emotional Support Animals by requiring a ‘confirmation of animal training’ form, as well as other official documentation.
“The airline also banned pit bulls and animals under four months of age as service or support animals.”
Kim has since booked a flight with Southwest Airlines and will be travelling to California to give Mila her dog.
Last year, Delta banned any emotional support animals on flights more than eight hours long.
Service animals are different from emotional support animals, as the latter are rarely trained for medical purposes.
Sun Online Travel has contacted Delta for additional comment.
This article was originally published by Fox News and has been reproduced with permission.
