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Emotional Support Dogs do not qualify any longer for the Service Animal Exemptions, and for that matter cannot legally be taken into any establishment that serves food, per FDA regulations.
However, the topic is flying with dogs and it is perfectly legal to fly with a certified Emotional Support Animal.
However, the topic is flying with dogs and it is perfectly legal to fly with a certified Emotional Support Animal.
I was referring to the rabies quarantine exemption. According to this State of Hawai'i update from Nov 1, 2012, only guide dogs and service dogs that meet certain criteria qualify for the quarantine exemption, but Emotional Support Dogs do not meet those criteria.
I'm not a real attorney, I just play one at Halloween, so I'd advise anyone who might be affected by this to contact the State directly to confirm their specific details. Contact info is on the website.
Ah, but you did not make that clear, your post did not reference ESA and rabies rules; however, you did mention restaurants which isn't the topic at hand.
Emotional Support Dogs do not qualify any longer for the Service Animal Exemptions
This was my point. Sorry if it was not clear. Federal rules have changed, so that Emotional Support Animals are no longer considered Guide or Service Animals... by any part of the law.
And State of Hawai'i regulations have paralleled the federal change, so that Emotional Support Animals no longer qualify for the Guide and Service Animal exemption to the state rabies quarantine.
IOW, whatever the airline policy allows becomes irrelevant once the plane lands and unloads. Alaska Air may allow Poopsy a free seat as an ESA, but she still have to conform to full rabies quarantine documentation just like a pet. I mentioned this because it is a CHANGE that not everyone is aware of yet.
The original idea of ESAs was wonderful, for instance in working with vets with PTSD. But way too many people abused the privilege, and you can now buy ESA documentation and tags and collars and stuff cheap over the internet, so it's lost all meaning. Thank all the self-entitled folks traveling with purse dogs who wanted to bypass regulations for personal convenience for the crackdowns they brought about.
Gosh, I never knew they were considered guide or service animals. Not sure if anyone else on here knew that either.
However, they are allowed on commercial flights (the requirements are easily google-able) and to enter HI, must comply with the rabies laws as posted on the Dept. of Ag website. Whether or not they can enter restaurants afterward wasn't really part of the discussion.
Gosh, I never knew they were considered guide or service animals. Not sure if anyone else on here knew that either.
A lot of people did, and apparently some people still do, because it is not that unusual to see people with pocket pooches in supermarkets and occasionally in restaurants who get all uppity if they are challenged on it. I've seen them several times in Foodland Kea'au and KTA Hilo on Puainako.
However, they are allowed on commercial flights (the requirements are easily google-able) and to enter HI, must comply with the rabies laws as posted on the Dept. of Ag website. Whether or not they can enter restaurants afterward wasn't really part of the discussion.
My last point was (sheesh, why am I having to explain this?) is that Service Animals are allowed in restaurants (If the management agrees they can be accommodated without health risk to others. They don't have to, but most do.), and until the March 1, 2011 rules went into effect, there were patrons carrying their small dogs into restaurants and claiming immunity from FDA restrictions because they were Service Animals. That's what the bulletin clarified, that ESAs are NOT Service Animals, and furthermore, that only dogs (not ferrets, not cats, not monkeys, etc.) and in very rare circumstances dwarf horses, can be considered Service Animals.
A lot of people did, and apparently some people still do, because it is not that unusual to see people with pocket pooches in supermarkets and occasionally in restaurants who get all uppity if they are challenged on it. I've seen them several times in Foodland Kea'au and KTA Hilo on Puainako.
Well then goshdarnit, get them to sign up for the Hawai'i CD forums!!! They too can take a discussion about flying with dogs onto a tangent!!!
Just a word of caution, shipping a dog to the islands is very difficuly on the dog. I once met a dog who had recently been brought over from the mainland and asked him how the flight was. His response: "Ruff!"
Well then goshdarnit, get them to sign up for the Hawai'i CD forums!!! They too can take a discussion about flying with dogs onto a tangent!!!
I don't know why you're dogging me on this, but it wasn't a tangent, it was just a side note, an added detail. An enhancement, if you will. Yeah, that's the ticket... it was an enhancement.
And though you seem unfamiliar with the issue, several years ago it was already a fairly common scam for self-entitled dog owners flying in to Honolulu to claim Service Dog status for their pets in order to get free in-cabin rides on airplanes and an easy trip through the quarantine check. That's the kind of abuse the Department of Justice rules I cited were intended to end.
The ExpressPass Lane through quarantine for "comfort dogs" has now been closed, but if anything the general problem with Service Animal fakery has increased overall:
Quote:
Business owners are complaining of a recent increase in the number of people “faking” the status of their pets as service dogs to gain access to areas otherwise off limits. Hotels, restaurants, trains and airplanes are all targets. For example, it is a widely accepted routine for top show dogs to fly from competition to competition in the passenger cabin of planes as “service dogs.”
A few years ago I wrote about people passing off their pets as service dogs so they could ride in the cabin together (thus avoiding the hazards of cargo and extra fees). Although the practice is unethical, and makes travel harder for people with legitimate service dogs, the problem seems to only be growing.
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but it wasn't a tangent, it was just a side note, an added detail. An enhancement, if you will. Yeah, that's the ticket... it was an enhancement. 
