# US Air kicks blind man off of airplane **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980 "2013-11-15T14:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/1 "2013-11-15T14:15:17Z")
Story [here](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/11/14/245276540/removal-of-blind-man-service-dog-from-flight-sparks-outrage). I’m confused on some points. Did the dog wiggle a little, or was it pacing up and down the aisle? Were the people kicked off of the plane, or did they walk out in protest? Either way, sounds like a shitty situation. I doubt they would have kicked a blind guy off for no good reason, but they may have been overreacting as well. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/2 "2013-11-15T14:21:05Z")
did he get a parachute? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/3 "2013-11-15T14:22:56Z")
Sounds like the guy didn’t have dog under control. > [@](#): > > said to her, ‘I really don’t understand what the issue is. I can’t do anything,’ " Rizzi was quoted by ABC’s WPVI as saying. If your dog is attempted to keep getting up to roam the aisles, yes, you can tell him to stay put and hold him in place. I’m assuming that the flight attendants don’t want the dog going up and down the aisle while they’re taxiing as it seems they hadn’t left the tarmac and had to turn the plane around. There’s a safety issue if something happens during take off and the dog and/or other people could get injured Unless there’s more to the story, it just sounds like the guy was being an ass. Off topic: my partner does a lot of flying and on a recent trip, was upgraded to business class. The f.a. asked him if he minded that the person sitting next to him had a seeing-eye pony. He said no and the pony, which had little mittens on each of its hooves, fell asleep on the ride with its head on my partner’s feet. That was pretty much the cutest story I’d ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/4 "2013-11-15T14:25:47Z")
They should have just done what I do if the dog misbehaves - put him outside. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/5 "2013-11-15T14:28:17Z")
The story I read had passengers denying the guy was abusive and that the dog just wanted to get out from under the seat and sit under the owner’s legs instead. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/6 "2013-11-15T14:29:53Z")
Getting your own little pony is a good consolation prize for blindness. I wouldn’t make this deal, but I imagine a million little girls woud. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/7 "2013-11-15T17:23:02Z")
I’ve met working guide equines – in my case, [miniature](http://habee.hubpages.com/hub/Miniature-Horse-vs-Pony-Whats-the-Difference)horses, not [ponies](http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-miniature-horse-and-vs-pony/). Cute as a friggin’ button, they are. I know you’re not supposed to pet or mess with working animals while they’re working, but mini horses are hard to resist. Forget being asked if I minded having someone with a guide pony as a seatmate! Hell, I’d request it! ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/8 "2013-11-15T17:35:26Z")
This is the first I’ve ever heard of seeing-eye ponies, and it has made me happier than I thought possible. I mean, I’m sorry this dude got kicked off the plane, but I think it’s one of those had-to-be-there situations and we’re not getting the whole story. But seeing-eye pony is the highlight of my day, and I’m off to Google images of them. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/9 "2013-11-15T18:39:07Z")
Some speaker said that he got a seeing eye pony because he couldn’t face the prospect of putting down a seeing eye dogs every 10 years as they aged. Getting a horse meant he could pretty much keep that one animal his whole life. As a friend is facing the prospect of putting down his Guide Dog right now I can understand the sentiment. Poor Quinn. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/10 "2013-11-15T21:00:21Z")
Not as bad as putting down, but one patient of ours (legally blind, could only distinguish large areas of bright vs dark color with decent lighting, that kind of thing) had to retire a guide dog to just being his pet. Why? She developed cataracts! He said that on his first major outing with his new guide dog, he figured he’d bring his retired guide dog too, to help with jealousy or any similar issues. Apparently that was not a problem; she had figured out the concept of retirement and was more than happy to let the other dog lead them both. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/11 "2013-11-15T23:49:06Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Off topic: my partner does a lot of flying and on a recent trip, was upgraded to business class. The f.a. asked him if he minded that the person sitting next to him had a seeing-eye pony. He said no and the pony, which had little mittens on each of its hooves, fell asleep on the ride with its head on my partner’s feet. That was pretty much the cutest story I’d ever heard. I bet it’s only a matter of time before they try to upsell you on a pony-adjacent seat. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/12 "2013-11-16T05:55:48Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I bet it’s only a matter of time before they try to upsell you on a pony-adjacent seat. +1000 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-air-kicks-blind-man-off-of-airplane/673980/13 "2013-11-16T18:12:44Z")
“Nice tits, stewardess. Now, where do you want these blinds?”