GEORGIA / CALIFORNIA -- A passenger on a Delta flight who was mauled in the face by a veteran's emotional support dog released harrowing photographs of his wounds before he received 28 stitches.
Marlin Termaine Jackson was sitting in the window seat on Delta flight 1430 from Atlanta, Georgia, to San Diego, California, on Sunday, when he was attacked by
Ronald Mundy Jr's
service dog, that he CLAIMS IS AN EMOTIONAL THERAPY PET.
Jackson was mauled twice, and suffered several lacerations on his face, including a 'puncture through the lip and gum', according to a statement released by his attorney J. Ross Massey.
Jackson was in the window seat, while the dog's owner,
Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. of Mills River, North Carolina, was sitting in the middle seat with his dog on his lap.
The dog, described as a Labrador retriever-pointer mix (that, until I see better photos of this dog, looks to me like a Pit Bull mix), began growling shortly after Jackson boarded the plane and sat down, witnesses said.
According to Bridget Maddox-Peoples, another passenger on the plane told her that Jackson asked the owner, 'Is this dog going to bite me?'
'You could hear a dog growling and a bark and someone screamed 'I need help, there's a medical emergency.' The area was completely covered in blood,' Maddox-Peoples told Fox 5.
'The gentleman's face was completely bloody. His shirt was covered in blood,' Maddox-Peoples said. 'When he walked out, he had a cloth over his face.
Mundy pulled his dog off Jackson's face, but the animal broke free and attacked him a second time, according to Massey.
The attack occurred before the plane took off, and Jackson was transported to the emergency room where he received 28 stitches.
Jackson, who is likely to be permanently scarred, is awaiting a consultation with a plastic surgeon, Massey said.
The attorney issued a statement on Thursday, saying: 'We understand and respect the importance of emotional support and service animals, especially for our nation's veterans.
'We are also concerned with Delta Air Lines' compliance with their policies to ensure the safety of all passengers. It is troubling that an airline would allow a dog of such substantial size to ride in a passenger's lap without a muzzle.
'Especially considering the dog and its owner were assigned a middle seat despite Delta Air Lines' policies that call for the re-accommodation of larger animals.'
According to Delta, the airline 'complies with the Air Carrier Access Act by allowing customers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to travel without charge' as long as they provide documentation.
Delta's website also says trained service dogs are allowed to be in the cabin without a kennel.
THIS IS NOT A 'SERVICE DOG'.
The dog was placed in a carrier and put on another flight with its owner, Delta said.
An unnamed witness told Fox 5 that Mundy was seen in the gate area cradling the dog in his arms, crying, and repeatedly saying, 'I know they're going to put him down.'
I doubt it. Unless he surrenders it to be euthanized, it's very difficult to order the destruction of a dog - unless it has killed someone.
Mundy was not charged in the incident.
MY THOUGHTS:
1. Ronald Mundy Jr. needs to be charged with reckless endangerment, owning a vicious dog and this dog should NEVER again be able to be labelled a "therapy pet" or "emotional therapy pet" or whatever nonsense they call these animals they want to drag everywhere with them.
2. Ronald Mundy Jr. needs to be sued out the wazoo for bringing a vicious onto a plane and allowing it to maul this man -- not just once, but TWICE the dog attacked him while Mundy just flailed around bawling about his therapy dog.
3. Delta Airlines should be sued out the wazoo for allowing these fake and semi-fake service animals onto their flights when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) clearly says that "emotional therapy pets" and "therapy pets" are not covered by the same laws that TRUE service dogs are afforded.
UPDATE: Read the comments below. The ADA does not apply to aircraft. There are completely separate rules for bringing alleged therapy animals on flights within the USA.
4. The police need to look into Ronald Mundy Jr. and find out who gave him a letter or whatever claiming he needs this dog for his emotions. Did he order a letter online? Is he simply claiming its a therapy dog and hoping no one questions him? If he really did get a doctor to write him a letter, who is this doctor? Is it a dentist? Is it a therapist? What medical exams, mental health evaluations did this dog do in order to determine that Ronald Mundy Jr. absolutely needed to take this dog everywhere?
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| Ronald Mundy Jr. |
5. What training has this dog had? Why wasn't it wearing a muzzle? If the dog does nothing but sit there next to its owner, it should have a muzzle on. It's not picking objects up for the owner, it's not doing anything that requires its mouth to be open. What makes the dog appropriate to bring it everywhere that you and I cannot take our pets, such as the library, on planes, in hotels, into restaurants, into the movie theatre, into the bar, into the grocery store?
6. Is it really a Labrador - Pointer mix? Because it doesn't look like one in the photo. Where did he get it? How long has he had it? What proof does he have that it's a Lab/Pointer mix? I believe military bases ban Pit Bulls from their on-base housing; does he live on-base? Why is this the only photo available right now? If he hasn't owned this dog since it was a puppy, what's its history? Was it surrendered to a shelter because it attacked someone or someone's pet? Was it aggressive so the shelter shipped it off to some "no kill" rescue? The police need to look into this immediately.
I am so sick of these fake service animals. Even if Ronald Mundy Jr. does have some emotional issues, you can't solve a problem simply by dragging your dog with you everywhere.
After all, people have had emotional issues for lifetimes. They didn't drag their pets with them everywhere 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago. They took medication, they went to therapy. They got a friggin' rabbit's foot keychain or a Pet Rock and took that everywhere with them.
This poor man was minding his own business and because of Delta and Ronald Mundy Jr. his face has been rearranged by a dog that NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE CABIN OF THE PLANE.
Service Animal Defined by Title II and Title III of the ADA
A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.
Emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not service animals under Title II and Title III of the ADA. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not considered service animals either. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability. It does not matter if a person has a note from a doctor that states that the person has a disability and needs to have the animal for emotional support.
A doctor’s letter does not turn an animal into a service animal.
Under Title II and III of the ADA, service animals are limited to dogs. However, entities must make reasonable modifications in policies to allow individuals with disabilities to use miniature horses if they have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for individuals with disabilities.
Other Support or Therapy Animals
While Emotional Support Animals or Comfort Animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals, they are not considered service animals under the ADA. These support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.
Even though some states have laws defining therapy animals, these animals are not limited to working with people with disabilities and therefore are not covered by federal laws protecting the use of service animals.
(
Daily Mail - June 8, 2017)
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