Put down the Yorkie and come out with your hands up! Your days here are through!

It’s been announced that American Airlines is among the first to ban emotional support animals from the passenger cabins of their planes. And thank God. It’s about time. Last month the federal government cleared the way for airlines to make this decision.

Keep in mind emotional support animals and service animals are two very different things. A blind person who uses a trained, legitimate seeing eye dog, a person who suffers seizures who relies on a trained service animal for early detection, etc., can still have them. It’s the people who fake their way into bringing mere pets, not trained to perform any task that the person cannot do for themselves, onto planes who will be stopped.

I’ve said for years that this is an abuse of the ADA and it’s sad it has taken this long for regulations to catch up to these selfish, obsessive pet owners.

These are the people like the avant-garde artist Ventiko who tried bring her emotional support peacock onto a plane. People have brought ducks, miniature horses, you name it, and up until now airlines felt powerless to stop them.

In 2014 a U.S. Airways flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia had to make an emergency landing in Miami when a large dog allowed on the plane continuously defecated in the aisle. The flight crew ran out of cleaning supplies and passengers were becoming ill from the stench.

The internet is filled with sites to buy fake service dog credentials to pass off your pet as the real deal. In California the number of “emotional support” animal registrations increased 1,000% in just ten years, according to a study by University of California at Davis.

It’s an epidemic. Thank God some common sense is starting to prevail to put an end to the selfishness.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.

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