As service dog handlers, it’s our responsibility to educate ourselves on our rights, and the regulations that affect us. Air travel is an area of much confusion, and since Kaline and I just came back from another trip (to Michigan, where else?), now seems like a good time to address this.
Once you’re in an airport, most especially in an airport past security, the law that applies is no longer the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The relevant law is the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), which differs from the ADA in several important ways, most notably in that it gives emotional support animal owners the right to have their doctor-prescribed pets with them on the same level, essentially, as service dog handlers.
When you arrive in the airport, it would behoove you to have your service dog harnessed or vested so that he or she is very obviously a service dog. The TSA have steps they can go through to establish that a dog is a service dog, and if your dog is marked, they will have a lot of trouble going to steps 2 and 3.
Kaline leaning back in a down stay, looking at me with his floppy ears hanging backward. He is waiting with me in the Delta terminal at Detroit Metro Airport.
If you bring your dog in “naked,” you must make “credible verbal assurances” to the TSA agents that your dog is a service animal. If they don’t find your assurances credible, however, they can demand to see a doctor’s note of support. Those with emotional support animals must produce such a letter, which must be written in a very specific way, regardless of their dog’s attire in order to travel. I highly recommend that every service dog handler have a doctor’s letter of support in their travel bag, just in case of emergency. However, I personally would only show mine in a very extreme situation, because Kaline never travels out of harness.
While I have had almost exclusively positive experiences with TSA, I think we all know that these people can often go on major power trips. It’s essential that every handler know the TSA guidelines regarding service dogs, and I carry a printout of those guidelines just in case. I also carry printouts of relevant sections of the ACAA. Sometimes, the only solution to a situation is to read federal law to whoever is in your way, until they realize it applies to them.
"A variety of makers offer metal-free leashes specifically for airport travel. You and your dog can walk through together, and as long as neither of you alarms, you can both get dressed again and neither of you will get a pat-down."
Another very important aspect of the TSA guidelines is that they CANNOT force a handler to remove their service dog’s gear (specifically, leashes or other things that help you control the dog, equipment that marks your dog, or equipment that helps the dog do its job like a guide or mobility harness). As a handler, you need to decide if it’s more important to you to keep your dog’s gear on, or to keep the TSA from touching your dog. Both choices are completely valid.
If you want your dog’s gear to stay on, the usual procedure is to leave the dog in a stay and go through the metal detector by yourself. Then you call your dog through, he or she alarms, and the TSA agent will pat him or her down and inspect any pockets they may have. If you don’t mind TSA touching your dog, and your dog likes people, this can actually be a fun option. I know, I know, fun and TSA don’t usually go together. But as an example, on the way home from Detroit, as the TSA agent was going through Kaline’s gear, she asked what was in his cape pocket. “His baseball cards!” I replied. She fanned them out with a big grin. “Do you want one?” I asked. She was completely thrilled she got to keep one. TSA will almost always send the resident dog lover to do your dog’s pat down. It’s usually pretty low-key and actually enjoyable.
Many handlers, however, do not want their dogs touched by any strangers. In that case, you’ll need to remove anything on your dog that contains metal. A variety of makers offer metal-free leashes specifically for airport travel. You and your dog can walk through together, and as long as neither of you alarms, you can both get dressed again and neither of you will get a pat-down.
In the face of TSA agents on a power trip, it can be extremely hard to advocate for yourself, especially if part of your disability involves anxiety. Something that helps me is a lot of practice beforehand, rote memorizing responses to possible challenges from the agents. I also never travel alone, and the people I travel with are always prepped for challenges as well. Another thing that can head off conflict is for you, as the handler, to tell the agent exactly what your preferred procedure is before they even tell you to do anything. Usually, as soon as an agent looks at Kaline, I say in the most confident tone I can manage: “I’m going to go through first. He will wait. When you tell me it’s okay, I will call him through. After he alarms, he’ll get his pat-down.”
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