Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

4 hours ago

Gabbard Releases New Documents Targeting Obama Administration

6 hours ago

US Existing Home Sales Fall More Than Expected in June

7 hours ago

Trump Strikes Tariff Deal With Japan, Auto Stocks Surge

7 hours ago

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

22 hours ago

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath’s Bat-Biting Frontman, Dies at 76, BBC Reports

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Seek Help Locating Missing Woman and Infant

1 day ago

US Justice Dept. Asks Epstein Associate Maxwell to Speak to Prosecutors

1 day ago
Owners Bark Back at Delta's Ban of Pit Bull Service Dogs
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
June 22, 2018

Share

ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines says it’s no longer allowing passengers to fly with “pit bull type” dogs as service or support animals, a policy that’s being met with criticism by groups that train service dogs and the people who use them.
The Atlanta-based airline describes its ban as an “enhancement” to its policy on animals in passenger areas. Delta will also limit travelers to a single emotional support animal per flight.

“We have determined that untrained, pit bull-type dogs posing as both service and support animals are a potential safety risk.” — Delta Air Lines statement
The changes, announced this week, take effect July 10.
“It’s a bit nuts because Delta is actually my preferred airline to fly with my service dog,” said Fiona Gilbert of the San Francisco area, who said she flew about 300,000 miles with Delta in the past year with her pit bull-type dog, Koda.
Gilbert has a degenerative neurological condition, and Koda can sense when she might have a seizure and then get help if needed, she said.”He’s basically my alert system,” she said. “He’s my emergency response system. I trust him more than I trust myself when it comes to not feeling well. He’s been trained to get help if I need him to. Koda and I are a team – we’re inseparable.”
Now, Gilbert has 20 trips planned with Delta later this year and is scrambling to figure out what to do.

Delta Cites ‘Growing Safety Concerns’

Delta said its ban on pit bull-type dogs responds to “growing safety concerns” after several employees were bitten, the airline said in a statement.
“We must err on the side of safety,” Delta said in a statement Friday. “Most recently, two Delta employees were bitten by a pit bull traveling as a support animal last week. We struggled with the decision to expand the ban to service animals, knowing that some customers have legitimate needs, but we have determined that untrained, pit bull-type dogs posing as both service and support animals are a potential safety risk.”
The bite happened during the boarding process for Delta flight 295 from Atlanta to Narita, Japan, the airline said.

Animal Groups Criticize Decision

But the ban is prompting a social media backlash, and is being criticized by several animal groups.
Delta “should resist unwarranted breed prejudice and rescind its breed ban,” Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said in a statement Thursday.
Figuring out exactly which dogs fall under the policy could be a challenge.
“Pit bull is an arbitrary label – there’s no standard definition of what makes a dog a pit bull,” said Regina Lizik, the communications and fundraising manager at Animal Farm Foundation in Bangall, New York, which provides service dogs to people with various disabilities. Gilbert’s pit bull was trained there.
“It’s all about that individual dog and their ability to do this work,” Lizik said. “All dogs are individuals.”
Delta’s statement says “pit bull type” dogs will be banned, but lists “Bull type dogs” on its online list of prohibited animals, which includes reptiles, spiders and goats, among others.
Gilbert said she understands Delta’s desire to keep its employees safe. She said she supported the airline in March, when it announced new policies for service animals. Delta and United officials said at the time that they’d seen a sharp rise in the number of support animals, and that some passengers were bringing all types of animals on board.
“The irony is that I switched airlines to Delta when I got a service dog because they have the nicest flight attendants, and they are a wonderful company to fly with,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said she hasn’t received complaints about Koda curled up by her feet on Delta flights in the past. Service dogs such as Koda are “much more polite and less disruptive than some passengers I’ve been on planes with,” she said.
“Most people don’t even know there’s a 75-pound dog sitting there until we get up to leave,” she added.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Trade Deal With Japan, Including 15% Tariff

DON'T MISS

Why American Jews No Longer Understand One Another

DON'T MISS

Visalia DUI Operation Nets 17 Arrests Over Weekend

DON'T MISS

Storyland Will Sparkle for All Visitors With $1 Million City of Fresno Grant

DON'T MISS

Former Madera Charter School Executive Charged With Embezzling Federal Funds

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Doesn’t Respond to Public Records Requests. Is District Hiding Something?

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

DON'T MISS

Feds Award $93 Million to Key San Joaquin River Salmon Restoration Project

DON'T MISS

With Backing From Dyer, Ashjian Reinstated to Measure C Panel

DON'T MISS

Fresno Shooting Leaves One Dead, Authorities Looking for Witnesses

UP NEXT

Why American Jews No Longer Understand One Another

UP NEXT

US Appeals Court Will Not Lift Limits on Associated Press Access to White House

UP NEXT

Epstein Files Fight Leads US House Republicans to Start Summer Break a Day Early

UP NEXT

Obama Reiterates Conclusion of Attempted Russian Interference in 2016 Election

UP NEXT

NPR’s Top Editor Edith Chapin to Step Down

UP NEXT

Less Than 400 EV Charging Ports Built Under $7.5 Billion US Infrastructure Program

UP NEXT

California Voters Say State Is Off Course. Housing Emerges as Top Concern

UP NEXT

Fresno County Authorities Seek Help Locating Missing Woman and Infant

UP NEXT

Americans’ Confidence in Institutions Remains Low. Divides by Party Widen

UP NEXT

US Judge Sentences Ex-Police Officer to 33 Months for Violating Civil Rights of Breonna Taylor

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Visalia Police Arrest DUI Driver on Probation After Early Morning Chase

2 hours ago

Clovis Police to Hold DUI Checkpoint on Friday

2 hours ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

2 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to Life for Idaho Killings, Declines to Make Statement

2 hours ago

US Judge Rejects Bid to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts From Florida Probe

3 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Did Judge Block a New Costco for NW Fresno?

3 hours ago

Sanger Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Dangerous Felony Assault Suspect

3 hours ago

US Republicans Continue Push to Override California Animal Welfare Law

4 hours ago

Doctor Pleads Guilty to Supplying Ketamine to ‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry

4 hours ago

Visalia’s Shirk Street Intersection to Close Starting July 28

4 hours ago

Protesters in Tel Aviv Call for Israel to End Hunger and Gaza War

Protesters in Tel Aviv took to the streets on Tuesday carrying flour bags and pictures of malnourished children from Gaza, calling for the e...

10 minutes ago

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
10 minutes ago

Protesters in Tel Aviv Call for Israel to End Hunger and Gaza War

44 minutes ago

Karbassi Fears Costco Could Move to Madera After Fresno Project Halted by Court

President Donald Trump speaks to the media as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche listen in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

White House Says WSJ Report on Trump Being Told Name in Epstein Files “Fake News”

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest DUI Driver on Probation After Early Morning Chase

2 hours ago

Clovis Police to Hold DUI Checkpoint on Friday

Henry Thompson Fresno Airport
2 hours ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, in Boise, Idaho, U.S., July 2, 2025. Kyle Green/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
2 hours ago

Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to Life for Idaho Killings, Declines to Make Statement

US Judge Rejects Bid to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts From Florida Probe
3 hours ago

US Judge Rejects Bid to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts From Florida Probe

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend