The passenger who sat next to Kerry Radloff on a plane to Doha, then Miami, Belize and finally Canada lapped up doggie biscuits, snoozed on the cabin floor and wagged her tail as she posed for a photo to capture her first air trip.
However, the big black Labrador’s presence in the Qatar Airways plane’s cabin didn’t raise any eyebrows.
“The air hostesses greeted both of us as if they had dogs on board all the time. Moyo was a hit with other passengers — not a single person seemed to have any objection at all,” Radloff said.
Radloff emigrated from Durban to Canada in July last year with Moyo tagging along as “SA’s first officially registered emotional support dog”.
She says Moyo knows when she is going to have a panic attack before she does, and understands what triggers her complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, the dog needs to be at her side at all times.
Dogs, cats, peacocks, miniature horses, squirrels and even some reptiles have become common sights at airports in the US as more passengers travel with emotional support animals (ESAs).
Before Moyo could get on a plane as an ESA, Radloff had to send documentation including forms completed by her psychologist and the dog’s vet to the national health department. Moyo also had to be signed off by a registered animal behaviourist.
Since leaving SA, Radloff has met several people who admitted to “getting papers” for an ESA just so they could have their pet with them on the plane.
South African Airways receives about one request a month for an ESA to travel in the cabin.
• 190,000 - the number of emotional support animals that Southwest Airlines handles a year
• 48% - the annual increase of emotional support animals abroad airlines in the US
— IN NUMBERS
The airline only allows ESAs to accompany passengers on flights to and from the US.
“SAA does not make provision for pets in-cabin as the state vet regulations require all animals to be shipped as manifested cargo. There is an exception in the form of a regulation by the US department of transportation. The US department has exempted foreign carriers from accepting ‘any’ animal as emotional support, other than dogs,” SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said.
SAA does not make provision for pets in-cabin as the state vet regulations require all animals to be shipped as manifested cargo.
He said guide dogs and other ESAs accompanying passengers with disabilities were carried free of charge, subject to conditions.
“Support-animal carriage will be approved based on evaluation of medical reports from treating physicians and necessary documentation relating to the support animal, as required by the various authorities such as the state vet,” Tlali said.
Over the years, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) has received numerous e-mails from people looking to register animals as ESAs in SA. However, there is no national organisation that assists with accrediting these animals in SA.
“Sadag developed very basic guidelines on how to collect all the necessary documents and letters from vets and psychiatrists and immunisation cards to assist in the travel application for animals/ESAs. However, Sadag does not run this project full-time, unfortunately, due to lack of capacity and funding,” spokesperson Kayla Phillips said.
Service dogs in SA include guide dogs for the blind and canines that assist those with autism, diabetes and psychiatric challenges.
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