Actual Service Dog on Plane Attacked, Pregnant Person Also Punched.

A Great Dane hid under the seats? Hmm. The only time my Great Dane would have been able to fit under an airline seat was when she was less than 3 months old. And frankly I'm amazed that Zariel would even be able to fit in an airline seat. That would be a tight squeeze for my dog, even in first class.

Regardless, the dog-puncher is a major jerk.

Yeah, I still think the Dane in that pic is gonna have a hard time sleeping on the floor beneath the seats, but what do I know?

At just over a year old, my Dane weighed 135 and was the size of a small horse. A plane traveler, she was not gonna be.

And hats off to this family for being able to train an 8-month-old pup to be calm enough to be a service dog. Mine certainly wasn't.

If Zariel is a full-blooded Dane, I do suspect that their doggie's air travel days might be numbered. But then again, having 2 toddlers and an infant is a travel killer, too.

That is so sad.

The man on the plane is an asshat, no doubt. Kudos to the dog, and whoever trained it, that it took it all so well, and tried to hide under the chair. If it's going to be living with children, it says good things about it's temperament that it didn't turn and snap at the guy. Who, if he really was allergic, should have complained at the start of the flight, not the end.
(And punching a person, let alone a pregnant one, is beyond the Pale.)

Other things are odd, though. The dog has a 'Dane' head, in size and shape, but the legs look too short. At 8 months, shouldn't any breed be at the 'leggy' stage? For that matter, I don't know about all service dogs, but guide dogs for the blind don't start training until they're a year old. 8 months sounds awfully young. Basic companion training, yes, but service animal?
And, what training program would choose a Great Dane, or cross? It's going to be bulky for cars and apartments, let alone airplanes. It's good to have a sturdy dog with children, but surely a Lab or Retriever would fit the bill.
Odd choice, but, again, the temperament seems good.
Wait 'til the dog outgrows the plane, and it's another 'family misses flight because of service dog' story.

WTF? What is happening to people? Is being human and respecting others out of the question now?

If he's actually a service dog (and it sounds like he is based on his behavior and response), I'm pretty sure 8 months old is a typo. At 8 months old a service dog might have begun training. Might. From the story this dog is completely trained already. I have/have had several friends who travel with service dogs. Service dogs lay on their human partner's feet and do not get into anyone else's space.

I agree the dog doesn't look pure Dane. Most times agencies use Goldens or Labs, but not always, and they don't have to be. I haven't personally met any Dane/Dane Mix service animals, but I have known German Shepherds and a Weimaraner. I had an Entlebucher who didn't come from/wasn't trained by a service agency, but worked as a service dog for my kiddo--happy accident, we got him as a family pet, and then life happened and he became a working dog, though unofficial. His instincts/instinctual response were incredible, I have no doubt he could have been trained by professionals to be a perfect and official working dog.

Here's the story of George, the Great Dane service dog. Warning...it's a tear jerker.

frimble3 said:

Other things are odd, though. The dog has a 'Dane' head, in size and shape, but the legs look too short. At 8 months, shouldn't any breed be at the 'leggy' stage? For that matter, I don't know about all service dogs, but guide dogs for the blind don't start training until they're a year old. 8 months sounds awfully young. Basic companion training, yes, but service animal?

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It's possible the dog isn't a purebred Great Dane, or that it isn't a Dane at all. The press gets things very wrong sometimes when it comes to details about animals (or people--my brother was interviewed for a story once, and they said he had no relatives except our parents).

As for fitting under seats, it's amazing how small some dogs can make themselves. I met someone who had a standard poodle service dog who flew with her, and he could curl up under an airplane seat. It's also possible they were sitting in a bulkhead row. People pay extra for those, but some airlines make them available for people with disabilities or service animals. If the asshat paid extra to sit in a bulkhead seat, that might explain why he didn't just want to switch seats with someone non allergic, and why he felt so "entitled."

Not that it in any way justifies his behavior. Mentally healthy, properly socialized, decent adults use punching is a last resort in bad situations, not a first one. And punching a pregnant person in the stomach? That's about as taboo as things get. I wonder if he was trying to provoke the dog into biting him so he could claim it was vicious and sue, or maybe he is just one of those odd and scary adults who lack impulse control.

As for the dog being eight months, it's possible he was in training. People are allowed to train their own animals or to participate in programs that allow them to do so, and flying with the dog would be part of that training. Though a trip with the entire family seems like an odd training mission.

Great Danes are an unusual choice for signal dogs also. Most of those are med-to-small dogs, because they don't need to be able to pull wheelchairs or retrieve items for their owners, and smaller dogs are easier to transport and take places, all else being equal. Also, Danes don't live very long--often only 8-10 years--so they're not the best return on training investment in terms of service longevity, but for some assistance functions, a larger dog makes sense.

regdog said:

As far as I'm concerned, there would be no issue against the dog if it had attacked the man for punching it, the woman or pushing the children.

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Trouble is, in the eyes of some people, the dog would have been in trouble, no matter how well deserved the attack. I'll bet only a few people in the immediate area of the affected seats saw the whole thing, the rest would have believed whatever story the 'victim' spouted.
If he was a full grown Dane, I'd love to have seen him up on his hind legs, paws on the guy's shoulders, lookin' him right in the eye.

Roxxsmom said:

It's possible the dog isn't a purebred Great Dane, or that it isn't a Dane at all. The press gets things very wrong sometimes when it comes to details about animals (or people--my brother was interviewed for a story once, and they said he had no relatives except our parents).

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Just as a total aside, the local paper once did a story on our dog (small town, starved for human interest stories). We told the reporter he was a Welsh Corgi named Paddy.

The paper printed he was a Gorgi named Spot. I guess she couldn't read her notes regarding "corgi", and was unable to remember his name at all.

I figure it went "It's a dog. Call him Spot." "But he has no-" "SPOT!"

Twick said:

Just as a total aside, the local paper once did a story on our dog (small town, starved for human interest stories). We told the reporter he was a Welsh Corgi named Paddy.

The paper printed he was a Gorgi named Spot. I guess she couldn't read her notes regarding "corgi", and was unable to remember his name at all.

I figure it went "It's a dog. Call him Spot." "But he has no-" "SPOT!"

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I once saw an online article about a "pit bull attack" that was accompanied by a photo of the dog in question... which didn't even remotely look like a pit bull. IIRC, it was some kind of greyhound mix.

Apparently people must have contacted the paper to let them know of the mistake, because I happened to see the article again a few hours later and it had been changed. Did they correct the breed? Sort of. The picture of the actual culprit had been replaced by a stock photo of a pit bull.