You can always tell who the city kids are when you read pieces like this about wolves. Perhaps the writer can work a few seasons on a small family ranch out in Eastern Washington and educate themselves?

And why nothing about Senator Fain? He's been accused of rape and from the information released by the accuser her story has been collaborated by others. I'd think there should be calls for him to resign at this point.

Mini horses on airplanes...I mean, fine. I think the novelty of getting to hang out with a mini horse on a plane ONE TIME would outweigh the annoyance and inconvenience. I assume to accommodate a mini horse on a plane, the passenger would have to buy two additional plane tickets. If they had to take out seats, that represents additional cost to all other fliers as the airline is making less money that way.

Ultimately, as somebody trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, I see all service animals as "safety items" that patients use to essentially avoid the difficult but rewarding work of developing the internal coping strategies required to exist in normal human environments. At the very least, how does somebody settle on requiring a mini horse? Are they allergic to cats, dogs, bunnies, and every other reasonably-sized animal that could also qualify?

@1 You can always tell a rural welfare case: they're whining on about how the government needs to help them out before they go under. Rugged individualism on the urban tax-payer's dime.

@1:

Maybe if ranchers hadn't thoughtlessly introduced an invasive species of domesticated bovine into the wolves' natural predatory habitat you wouldn't be having these problems...

@1 "And why nothing about Senator Fain?"

https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/09/28/33039071/washington-state-senator-accused-of-raping-seattle-woman

Those whiney pitiful bores whom around their little doggies as "emotional support animals" making everyone accommodate them are really pathetic. Not much fun for their animal captives as well.

No booze, but who knows what pharma they are pumping into that nitwit. I bet he's got a pharmacopia in him before the day is out.

@3 @7 HOW AWFUL that veterans with PTSD can cope in society by adopting an emotional support dog. We just do soooo much for veterans, I can't believe they would stoop to a relatively cheap option for being able to go about their daily lives...

In non-sarcastic speak, I do agree a mini-horse is very much pushing it.

Also, I wonder if the Amazon minimum wage move is, in part, due to whispers of unionizing at Whole Foods. This would certainly put a dent in those efforts. Just a thought...

For once I agree with Trump - it's better that he's not drinking, especially when he goes on one of his late night/early morning Twitter binges.

I get it, the reporter is a female, and Trump is an ass. She can handle herself, but what does her being female have to do with what he said? ZERO.

So Amazon raised their minimum wage to $15 hour across the country. That's cool. The problem with giving in to incessant nihilistic self-entitled complainers is there is never enough money one could ever give. It's never been about the wage.

Interesting thing about unionizing is that employees choose to either unionize or not. If the $15 hr. is about curbing unionization then the employees are choosing for that to be the case. Good on the employee, no matter what they choose.

The interesting thing about the reporter's response to Trump saying what he said is that I'm sure her, like myself, is a diehard pro-equality type. Which means anything a man says to another man is open game on myself as well. That's the downside of not having certain gender etiquette is that sometimes, like males, you have to eat shit.

@13 Equality does not obviate etiquette.

@13- and in this case we have neither.

Give some credit to Bernie Sanders for publicly shaming Jeff Bezos for the Amazon $15.00 minimum wage boost. Now that they got the $15 wage, next step is to Unionize!

I presume he's at least tasted beer or wine. so the question is, why doesn't Trump drink, ever?

his older brother was an alcoholic, that is the typical rationale given. but after a beer or 2, a narcissist like Trump might feel some messy human feelings if he lost a little bit of control. things like compassion, regret, guilt, shame.

and a narcissist can't have that.

@20: You are literally only bound by your imagination, and the best you can do is "narcissism?" Lame.

At least add in something about lizard people, piss parties, Russian mind control haxx, incest, or SOMETHING. I'm getting bored over here.

@17 Never said it did. Silly, you didn't read what I typed. Trump doesn't have to offer that.

The fact that she's female is irrelevant, well, not according to media outrage.

OK. The only two SERVICE animals now legally allowed are mini-horses that are 34 inches high at the shoulder--shorter than Bernese Mountain dogs and much slimmer. I’ve seen mini-horses on subways, MARTA, and Metro.
They are NOT “comfort” animals. They allow people to walk without falling down. You non-disabled folks anger me. It’s ALL a joke to you, but these well trained mini-horses won’t urinate or shit on a plane like humans do when drunk or “entitled” (Gerard Depardieu).

I watched a woman who had been shut-in for years get a mini-horse and be able to walk out of her home. Again...you folks know NOTHING then make dumbass, UNEDUCATED comments!

@3 - Did you get your training in cognitive behavioral therapy from the back of a cereal box? First, service animals are not emotional support animals. Second, mini-horses are specifically covered under ADA, as are dogs. No other animals are covered as service animals. And no amount of coping skills will help a person overcome blindness or paralysis. You ought to try learning about the topic of service animals so you don't sound so foolish in the future.

@7 - I hope you draw a distinction between an "emotional support animal" and a service animal. I find that people who don't are really pathetic whiny little bores.

To help those who clearly know nothing about mini-horses, they can be as small as 24 inches in height and 70 pounds in weight. That's the size of a typical male Labrador Retriever which is a breed commonly used as a service animal.

@27: I do. They are an insult to the people whom need service animals to function and have a decent life.

@29 - Duly noted and I agree.

@3 - No, a disabled individual shouldn't have to pay extra. When I owned a business, it cost me more to build an ADA compliant restroom than it would have if I had been allowed to ignore ADA laws and regulations. I didn't charge a disabled individual to use the restroom because of this. There is a cost to doing business and accommodating disabled individuals is one of those costs.

@23

Thanks for the edification, Doc!

I was thinking Noah's Ark with
nuts and booze. And nose plugs.

@14 remember the innocent days of covfefe?

@21: i don't think i need imagination to label Trump a narcissist. quibble harder.

@22- Your sentence structure and grammar in most posts make it difficult to parse your meaning.

@35: Well, suggesting narcissism for someone's distaste for drinking was kind of entertaining, but I feel like you just really lost heart there at the end. You didn't even reference his genitals.

4/10 at best. You need to start applying yourself. You are falling way behind the other clowns.

The next time I see an emotional support animal on the plane I'm BBQing that bitch right there in front of everyone!

@27 in particular, but also @23, 25, 28, 31, 32 - I concede. I agree with everything you said. I definitely was imprecise in my language. I meant to refer to "emotional support animals", not service animal. I know the distinction but was not making it in the moment I wrote my post. I am a big fan of accommodations for disability, and service animals that provide much needed assistance to people for whom there is no simpler solution. All of the examples you provided and more included.

The various "tiers" of credentialing for special privileges for animals is confusing, and the system is abused and misused systematically. You can buy online vests for dogs, and official-looking documentation, that declare they are service animals. The only time I play a role in the process is when patients ask me to write a letter calling their pet an emotional support animal so that they can take it on airplanes, and it is really only in this narrow circumstance that I have any real gripe. But even in that situation, I recognize that it unfair of me to assume that there is another intervention that is going to work for them, or work better. Also its just people trying to get their needs met.

Thank you righteous slog commenters for putting me in my right place.