A U.S. Army veteran said a Spirit Airlines crew kicked her off a flight all because of her service dog.
Last week, Janae Fowler and her boyfriend went to Colorado to visit some of her Army friends. Along for the ride was her service dog, pit bull and chocolate lab mix Ziggy Marley. Fowler said Ziggy is emotional support and helps relax her and calm her down.
On the return flight back to Houston from Denver, Fowler said a flight attendant asked her if Ziggy was a pit bull. After boarding and getting on the plane, another flight attendant asked to see Ziggy’s paperwork.
"And now she’s on the phone and she was saying ‘Well, an emotional support animal isn’t a service animal. A service animal is for someone with real disabilities,’" said Fowler. "And I felt insulted because there are veterans in the world that have disabilities you can’t see."
Fowler said she has brought Ziggy on flights several times before and there was never any problems. Eventually, Fowler, her boyfriend and Ziggy were put on a United Airlines flight back to Houston later that night.
A spokesman for Spirit Airlines said they are looking into the allegations. He added that in general, the plane’s captain makes the final decision to kick someone off a plane.
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