If you want to understand why "emotional support animals" on airplanes have become such a flash point, consider a striking seasonal statistic. This Valentine's Day, the National Retail Federation projects, about 21 percent of Americans bought a present for a pet, spending a total of $751 million.
The debate over animals on airplanes is part of a bigger cultural shift overturning existing norms about when and where pets are appropriate.
"The humanization of pets continues to be a driving factor for the pet industry," reports a study by the American Pet Products Association. Pet owners born between 1980 and 1994 — aka millennials — are leading the way. They're feeding pets organic foods, taking them to day care instead of leaving them home alone, buying them health insurance, paying extra for flavored medications, throwing them parties. "Pets have come a long way in the past couple of decades, going from being outside dogs to sleeping in our beds and having their own Instagram accounts," New York veterinary technician Natasha Feduik says.
Pet owners increasingly treat their animals as full-fledged members of the family and extensions of themselves — and expect everyone else to treat them that way as well. "I emotionally see myself as a 'mom' to my fur babies," Feduik writes, speaking for many. "I have two dogs, a cat and three birds, and they are my world."
If the soaring number of animals on planes represents "a fascinating case study of how mass cheating can become acceptable," as David Leonhardt of the New York Times argues, it's also a prime example of the humanization of pets. After all, you wouldn't put your children in the baggage compartment.
Besides, it's not as though pet owners without serious medical issues are exactly lying when they claim they need their fur kiddies for emotional support. Flying is stressful even to those without outright phobias and, barring the occasional hunting dog, emotional support is the whole point of having a pet. The animal is there to be adorable and make its owner feel loved — to provide comfort and joy amid the strains of daily life. So it's easy to rationalize your online purchase of an Emotional Support Animal vest, and even to justify your furry friend as a public good. The other passengers will light up to see your adorable pooch! Only meanies don't love animals!
And here's where the breakdown of existing norms starts to bite.
Until recently, the norm was for people who disliked, feared or were allergic to animals to tolerate brief interactions on the street or in a pet owner's home. They understood that theirs was a minority view. But they could also count on limited animal encounters. Offices, restaurants, hotels — not to mention airplanes — were pet-free zones.