A United Airlines passenger was furious after boarding her flight, only to discover she had been pulled from her seat by a service dog.
In an explosive post shared on Reddit, the furious passenger explained that she and her husband took a recent flight from San Diego to Denver and discovered a “huge” dog sitting in their seat.
“It was too big to fit on the floor,” he explained in the post, which was uploaded to the United Airlines subreddit.
“The flight attendant was a few rows away and when asked if she had seen the dog, she just shrugged,” the post continued.
The attached photo shows a giant black dog sitting in the middle seat, as tall as a human passenger.
“My husband and I tried to solve the problem with the passenger, but there was no way the dog could fit under his legs in the window seat,” the anonymous traveler complained.
The woman admitted that she was worried because the flight was completely full.
“The dog was occupying my seat,” she wrote indignantly. “I thought this dog was going to kick me off the flight.”
A United Airlines passenger was furious after boarding her flight, only to discover that a service dog had pulled her out of her seat.
According to the traveler, a United staff member eventually found him “another seat.”
‘The dog stayed in my seat the entire flight. “It is totally absurd that a large dog can displace a paying passenger from his seat,” she wrote in disbelief.
The passenger called on United to “crack down on passengers who abuse the ‘service’ animal allowance.”
‘How can someone be allowed on board with such a large dog without buying an extra seat?’ she questioned.
“United’s policy is that service dogs ‘cannot be in the aisle or in the space of travelers next to them,'” the woman said.
He added that it is “disgusting” to have a dog outside of a carrier, sitting on the passenger seats and on the armrests.
‘The gate agents carefully check the size of my carry-on luggage, but apparently they don’t check the size of people’s “service” dogs! What the devil?!’ she concluded the post.
Users flooded the comments section and many shared their own experiences.
According to the traveler, a United staff member finally found his “other seat” (file image)
She shared her story on Reddit and users flooded the comments section, with many sharing their own experiences.
‘We saw a huge dog at LAX when we checked into Polaris. I asked the agent, “How many of these service dogs do you think are actually service dogs?” He said maybe less than one percent. It’s a shame,’ wrote one user.
‘I used to have a service dog. “She (barely) fit under the seat, but I think the rule/law/best practice is that if the dog is too big for that, you have to buy an extra seat,” another shared.
‘They need to review the laws on service animals. Giant dogs should not be allowed on airplanes,” another person agreed.
“I don’t want to use a seat that a dog has sat on,” another user complained.
‘They should provide some type of seat cover and also ask what size the dog is during ticket booking to determine if the dog needs to purchase a seat or not.
“If the passenger lies and the dog turns out to be larger at gate check-in, then the passenger will need to be rescheduled for a later flight.”
The United Airlines website details clear rules for traveling with service animals.
Instructs owners: ‘Your dog should sit on the floor space in front of your seat. They cannot be in the hallway or in the space of travelers next to them.
Last week, another traveler faced a similar situation on a Delta flight; were demoted to a “worst seat”, so a service dog
‘You can put your service dog in a pet carrier if you wish, as long as it meets the size requirements. You cannot sit in the exit row with a service animal.
DailyMail.com has contacted United Airlines for comment.
Last week, another traveler faced a similar situation on a Delta flight.
“I was upgraded to first (class) this morning, just 15 minutes later I was downgraded (to a (worse) seat than the one I had previously),” the anonymous man wrote on Reddit.
“I asked the receptionist what was going on and she said ‘something changed.’
That’s when he saw a grim-looking dog sitting in what was supposed to be his bulkhead seat with more legroom.
The “furious” passenger went on to claim that he contacted Delta customer service and was told by an agent that people “could be relocated by service animals” and that “there is nothing they can do.”
‘There’s no way that dog spent as much as I did on this airline. What an absolute joke,’ he fumed.
‘What’s the point of remaining loyal to this airline, really?’ I sat back when others complained about this airline mistreating customers lately and lowering service levels, but I’m also starting to question my loyalty.’