Last Updated on: 21st April 2015, 09:19 am
Considering I just finished flying, this story gives me chills.
Apparently United doesn’t just break guitars, and spirits, they break service animals too.
Jim Stanek, a war veteran with a service dog, says that two United Airlines workers kicked his dog. Kicked? Why in the name of all that’s holy would you do that? Now there’s a possibility that his dog was so badly traumatized that she may not work anymore.
I wouldn’t be surprised. I had a security screener so afraid of my dog that she was afraid to do her job, and if she got close to Trixie and Trix stood up, ya know, so she wouldn’t get stomped, the screener would start spazzing out. I had another airport person laugh at me when I was asking for a place for Trix to pee before we got on the plane. “Oh, the dog needs a loo!” Yeah, dog doesn’t get a loo on the plane. Wanna help me find one, please?
And people wonder why when I fly, I become an extremely tense person until Trix and I are safely on the plane.
Not entirely related, but a few years back I was on a bus and someone smacked my guide dog while she was turning to sit down. She didn’t hit her hard, but it was totally uncalled for and it still bothers me to this day. I can’t imagine how that man must be feeling right now. 🙁
This is horrible. It’s the stuff AD handler nightmares are made of.
I have had people intentionally push their grocery carts into my service dogs, and that’s bad enough.
I hope Jim and Sarge are able to heal from this incident as a working team.
I really don’t understand people. Whether you like dogs or not, what are you gaining by hurting one intentionally that has done nothing to you? And how often must this happen if we already have three examples here?