Monday, April 30, 2007

Quacking it up for Grand Rounds at Shrink Rap


We're getting ready for Grand Rounds here at Shrink Rap. We've read, we've written, we've eaten chocolate, we've podcasted. Roy is in his element. No BYOB here, I provided the beer, Roy and Clink the brains.

To be sure, our first subject heading will be something ducky, perhaps The Central Duckus.


For those who've joined us late, I'm Re-Publishing the original post about Emotional Support Animals inspired by a May, 2006 New York Times article, written a bit less tongue-in-cheek than one might imagine. I can't seem to get the pic of the Emotional Support Dog over, but you know I tried. Our lives have not been the same since, now get that Duck into the oven:


Beth Landman writes in Wagging the Dog, and a Finger:


The increasing appearance of pets whose owners say they are needed for emotional
support in restaurants — as well as on airplanes, in offices and even in health
spas — goes back, according to those who train such animals, to a 2003 ruling by
the Department of Transportation. It clarified policies regarding disabled
passengers on airplanes, stating for the first time that animals used to aid
people with emotional ailments like depression or anxiety should be given the
same access and privileges as animals helping people with physical disabilities
like blindness or deafness. These days people rely on a veritable Noah's Ark of
support animals. Tami McLallen, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, said that
although dogs are the most common service animals taken onto planes, the airline
has had to accommodate monkeys, miniature horses, cats and even an emotional
support duck. "Its owner dressed it up in clothes," she recalled. There have also
been at least two instances (on American and Delta) in which airlines have been
presented with emotional support goats.

Can I ask which designer the duck wore?

4 comments:

pemdas said...

Well you know the penguin's gonna have to wear Munsingwear

Midwife with a Knife said...

I'm trying to think of some witty comment about you guys getting your ducks in a row, but my brain just can't quite make it work. :)

Anonymous said...

Actually, I think that worked nicely.

Gerbil said...

One of my dearest friends has a hearing dog, and she has more than once been asked to leave a restaurant or store because the manager doesn't know from hearing dogs.

I must confess skepticism about emotional support animals. I mean, seeing-eye dogs have a pretty obvious function, as do hearing dogs, seizure-detecting dogs, impending-diabetic-coma-detecting dogs, and dogs that carry stuff and push buttons for people with limited mobility (whatever those are called). But I have to wonder whether a stuffed animal, some worry beads, or an iPod could serve the same purpose as an emotional support animal.

I don't mean to offend anyone with an emotional support animal. I'm just curious about what qualifies as an emotional support animal--and who's qualified to own one.

(That being said, my friend's dog was also a bit of an emotional support animal. My friend was one of our bridesmaids; and the dog was our ringbearer.)