Man sues after his face is mauled by emotional support dog on Delta Airlines flight
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A man who was allegedly attacked by an emotional support dog on a Delta Airlines flight has filed a lawsuit against the airline and the owner of the animal. Marlin Jackson has accused both Delta and Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr, a US veteran , of negligence after he was attacked while the flight was boarding in June 2017.
Mr Jackson was seated in a window seat while the dog was next to him on the veteran’s lap, according to the lawsuit. The dog then attacked Mr Jackson, leaving his face permanently scarred. According to the complaint , Mr Jackson “bled so profusely that the entire row of seats had to be removed from the airplane.” “The attack was briefly interrupted when the animal was pulled away from Mr. Jackson. However, the animal broke free and again mauled Mr Jackson's face,” the lawsuit continued.
The lawsuit also said Delta didn't verify the dog was trained or met the requirements of a service animal. A police report stated the Marine Corps veteran's dog was a chocolate lab pointer mix. Airlines later made changes to policies for emotional support animals following the attack, which drew national headlines in 2017.
Mr Jackson has continued to endure “severe physical pain and suffering” according to the lawsuit, amid substantial medical bills and an apparent loss of income or earning potential. The lawsuit goes on to note Mr Jackson’s “entire lifestyle has been severely impaired by this attack.”
At least a face value (pun not intended) it would seem Delta and the dogs owner are going to be out some money soon.
Thanks to liberal "compassion" just about anyone can bring an alleged service dog or comfort animal aboard an airliner.
Yeah I just had a knucklehead with one of those fake service dogs barking in a Hilton in Kentucky on Monday. I had the hotel manager give me a full refund for our nights stay.
Delta is going to be ponying up. I doubt the veteran would have that kind of money.
Pat money possibly no, but insurance possibly yes. Either way whatever he has there should be some sort of financial penalty
SP thanks for the additional info
Your welcome.
Having said that and not to diminish the 28 stitches he received, it seems like a simple money grab for the victim and his attorney.
The dog owner has some coverage through his home owners or renters policy within certain limits and time restraints.
The Airine is also insured for such incidents.
The last two sentences of the article are typical over dramatization by the lawyer. ( I also wanted to see proof of the "mutilation" )
One has to wonder how much each stitch will be worth.
The airline shouldn't have to pay. It wasn't their dog that attacked the man.
I think the guy has a right to get on an airplane and not get mauled by a dog. I know I have that right, I can't imagine why he would be any different.
Assuming he carries renters insurance, and/or assuming he carries a liability limit that isn't stupidly low like many people do.
Yes.
A shitload, and rightfully so.
They let in on the plane.
When I buy an airline ticket, I am buying SAFE passage to my destination. That includes protection against other passengers and their animals.
Airlines usually require an ESA letter for emotional support animals. If that criteria is met, and the animal is behaving, the airlines will not refuse boarding.
What is it with the 'emotional support' animals.
They are not trained service animals.
They are more or less pets.
I agree.
But this is one of the results of trying so hard to not offend or repress someone and accommodate each and every possible need or want any individual or groups of individuals may have, that the majority must suffer.
Just a lack of common sense.
They are pets. No "less" about it.
There are many ways to relax. Something wrong with a stuffed dog or a security blanket? Try meditation, soothing music or (assuming you don't have addiction issues) a cocktail before takeoff. People don't need to bring animals onto the airplane.
And what about people who are allergic to your comfort animal? Animal allergies are pretty common and can be very severe. Don't the other passengers have a right to fly without being assaulted by your pet's dander?
You never know with animals. People love to say "don't be silly, he won't bite you" but they have no idea. The human won't bite you, but they can't speak for the dog.
I have seen way to many people just stick their face in a dogs face. Just to be nipped at or bit.
People are idiots.
I have to mark this day down. I agree with people on the right. Haha
Then again....
And if there is absolutely a need (blindness and such) it must have the strongest training required to ensure it does its job and only its job regardless of others or surroundings.
This is the real topic.
What are the criteria - objective, measurable criteria - that qualify an animal as "support"?
How does the owner ensure the animal's good behavior in all circumstances?
If an owner cannot document their proven answers to both these questions, the animal should not be allowed in any closed space (airliner, train, elevator, ... ) or sanitary space (restaurant, ...).
( for information only )
Fascinating link. The site "assists" in obtaining an Emotional Support Cat... on a for-pay basis. Being a bit cynical, I suspect that the site always obtains a therapist's cover.
With such "assistance", anyone can have their pet become an "Emotional Support Whatever"... which is the problem...
TroutKatrix can keep her Emotional Support Peacock.That's katrix that wants to throw the bird at every body.
I already have an emotional support cat. I emotionally support him
If I tried to bring my cat on a plane, its yowling would stress me out, not calm me down.
Although come to think of it ... the peacocks that run around my neighborhood sound like babies being tortured, and they're louder than my cats. Maybe I'll stick with the emotional support cat after all.
Maybe someone should start manufacturing adult pacifiers for these emotionally challenged grownups - nice big nipples for use in public places. Keep the animals at home.
Or just let them take their teddy bear or blankie with them.
There are people in society that rely on service dogs for numerous reasons:
Seeing eye dogs for the blind
Dogs that calm veterans with PTSD
Dogs that sense and alert their masters of imminent seizures
[deleted]
I didn't say anything about those people in society who require seeing eye dogs, or the others. What I was talking about was the situation of the article - a vicious dog being passed off as an animal properly trained for its purpose.
Sure, but 1) they usually don't require that other people snuggle up next to their dog in close quarters, like in an airplane and 2) they typically go through extremely rigorous review and training to make sure the dog is not a menace.
There are many ways to treat PTSD and a dog could even be part of that, but I doubt very much that the dog is essential - to the exclusion of all other options - for a trip on an airplane.
Well dang. Does this mean I need to get rid of my emotional support peacock?
But you can keep the goldfish.
Well, maybe not. There is a limit to my tough love. I'm not completely heartless.
I have never seen or heard of a real service animal attacking anyone unless the owner's life was in danger.
This is the kind of thing that happens when we cater to each individual's whims.
These are "service dogs", that go through 1-2 years of training and rarely bite people.
They are not "support dogs", which are basically pets and are wholly unpredictable.
What caused the dog to go off like that?
Maybe they were serving lunch.
too many unknown variables but there is a possibility that the dog was racist
and just did not like the victims looks. It happens.
Yes, I know this, sadly.
LOL reminds me of Afghanistan, the camp dogs (dogs we adopted off the street) hated brown people (due to mistreatment while on the street) and would lose their minds when one was in our camp but loved white people (cause we fed and were kinder to them). It kinda sucked for the two brown people that were a part of our unit, but what can you do.
or perhaps the man should get checked for brain cancer, maybe the dog was just trying to tell him he was sick in the head...
So the dog was doing exploratory surgery?
I thought I read he had the dog on his lap. If so a dog that size would probably be eye level with the person next to them. With some dogs all it takes is to look at them.
Yeah, the guy had the dog on his lap. It's a lab/pointer mix. I didn't think labs were vicious dogs. I don't know anything about pointers
My cousin has a chocolate lab. He doesn't like strangers. When her son brought his girlfriend home she decided she could get to know him and sat on the floor and got in his face, he bit her.
Pointers are very stable.
face to face with an unfamiliar dog is a bad idea. eye contact makes it worse.
Sticking your face in the face of a strange dog is a sure way to get bitten. Eye contact can be interpreted by the dog as an aggressive move.
I work with large dogs, (Rotties, Pit Bulls, various hounds etc) all of these dogs have been abandoned or and mistreated, some very very badly. Working with dogs that have been mistreated, abandoned, starved etc is challenging. Earning their trust can take one visit or one hundred visits and from a couple of minutes to endless hours working to get them to be what they were meant to be. Man's best friend.
Of all of the dogs that I have worked with and am currently working with only one has not come around to being a well behaved and loving dog. I'm still working with Grizzley who is a 95 lb pit bull that was tied to a pole and beat with metal poles for years before he was rescued.
Why in the world would the airline allow a dog the size of a lab/pointer mix to be sitting in the same seat as the passenger...That's a serious problem waiting to happen and it did.
I've worked with dogs being trained to be service/support dogs for vets and it requires a very long time but it is well worth it since it has helped the vets deal with both physical and mental problems. It's a great program.
This is a photo of Carmella a 75 lb pit bull and as gentle as a lamb....Carmella is around 6 years old and was found abandoned and living on the streets. She is doing very well and looking of a ''forever home''....Next week I'll start working with her on a leash, she was/is not leash trained but is house broken and good with kids and other dogs.
Not a very lady like pose but fairly common among pit bulls.
On her back wanting her belly scratched.
Kavika, you are right about that.
A dog needs to know someone before a stranger is placed up close in their face.
My take on mammals is, if you have an idea of their inherent behaviour and approach them with that in mind, it is possible to come to terms with animals an observer would not think possible. Key word, possible.
Reptiles, on the other hand, (see story above) only care about 2 things.
1. Are they hungry?
2. Are they pissed off?
Answering yes to either question above makes you toast.
She's cooling her belly.
My buddy used to lay on ice like that.
My cousins chocolate lab is odd. He loves me but he knows me.
When people try to get to know him he rejects them. What actually works is to ignore him.
More or less let him come to you on his own terms, which most people are too impatient to let happen.
Once he decides to get to know someone, they are fine, no problem.
In the instance in this article, the man was sitting right next to the dog, both eye level. Close quarters in those seats. He probably just looked at the dog and the dog was probably already nervous.
As far as trained service animals, I was always taught to basically ignore them. Don't talk to them or try to pet them. They are doing a job.
Is he part cat?
She looks like a sweetie. And who's to say what lady like is? You don't want to know how I sit when I get hot
That sounds like you're saying that it's up to the random fellow passenger to know how to handle the situation. Is that what you mean?
Hence the lawsuit.
My interpretation is that Ender is making a general informational statement about dealing with actual service animals and not at all making a statement related to the seeded article.
Yes that is true I had a blind friend who made sure we knew to not try interacting with her guide dog.
That is correct. They are not there to be pets for someone. They are doing a job and are very very serious about it.
LOL, not going there. But Pitties lay like this even when it's not hot...
Just feckin ridiculous
That's dinner
I also found pics of ducks and kangaroos on airplanes
beside lots of dogs and one cat.
smh
and miniature ponies in public and on a bus serving blind people.
go figure.
How's that old saying go, Give people and inch and they'll take a mile
Who wants to sit next to a that? Hope it was potty trained.
Good grief...If you need a comfort animal to board a plane maybe you shouldn't be flying or get some pills instead for the flight.