A service dog strolls through the isle inside a United Airlines plane at Newark Liberty International Airport while taking part of a training exercise, Saturday, April 1, 2017, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The government has decided that when it comes to air travel, only dogs can be service animals, and companions used for emotional support don't count.
The Transportation Department issued a final rule Wednesday that aims to settle years of tension between airlines and passengers who bring their pets on board for free by saying they need them for emotional support.
Under the final rule, which takes effect in 30 days, a service animal is a dog trained to help a person with a disability.
For years, the department required airlines to allow animals with passengers who had a doctor's note saying they needed the animal for emotional support. Airlines believed passengers abused the rule to bring a menagerie of animals on board including cats, turtles, pigs, and in one case, a peacock.
The new rule will likely force those passengers to check their animals into the cargo hold — for a fee — or leave them at home.
The rule requires airlines to treat dogs trained to help people with psychiatric issues the same as other service animals. Advocates for veterans and others had pushed for that.
Airlines will be able to require owners to vouch for the dog's health, behavior, and training. Airlines can require people with a service dog to turn in paperwork up to 48 hours before a flight, but they can't bar those travelers from checking in online like other passengers.
Airlines can require service dogs to be leashed at all times, and they can bar dogs that show aggressive behavior. There have been incidents of emotional-support animals biting passengers.
A bipartisan group of two dozen lawmakers is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to put the brakes on an initial public offering by Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein until it verifies it does not use forced labor from the country’s predominantly Muslim Uyghur population.
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Cheddar News takes a look at The Day Ahead as the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting kicks off on Tuesday while earnings season continues with some big-name companies such as Ford, Pfizer, Starbucks and Uber on tap to report quarterly results. The JOLTS report is also due to be released ahead of April job numbers.
Dan Geltrude, managing partner of Geltrude & Co., joined Cheddar News to discuss why it's vital for a college student to begin budget preparations early for college tuition. "It's developing good financial habits," he said. "I'm a strong proponent that in high school, there should be some teaching, some course ... about personal finance."
