Service Animal Relief Areas at Airports

Have you traveled through an airport since the U.S. Department of Transportation required airports to install service animal relief areas? Whistle and I flew to Washington, D.C. last week. We traveled through the Chicago Midway Airport and Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.

We had a three hour layover on the way to Washington, D.C. in Chicago. I was so disappointed to see that the relief area was outside the secured perimeter at baggage claim. My caregiver took Whistle out and they had to go through security. We asked security if they could come back through the line any faster and were told they would have to go through the normal line. This was awfully time consuming and even though we had a three hour layover, we barely made our next flight. The security line was extremely long.

On the way back, Dulles did have a fenced in dog relief area. However, it too was outside of the secured perimeter and requires handlers to return through security. Once we landed at Chicago Midway, the security line was so long that we felt my caregiver would not have enough time to take Whistle out to the relief area and return through the enormous security line.

We asked a TSA official and a Chicago police officer and they both informed us that she would have to return through the security line with Whistle. They made no attempt to assist us and they didn’t really seem to know what I was talking about when I asked about a service dog relief area.

What we needed was a TSA security escort as a reasonable accommodation to get Whistle to the relief area and back through security so we could access our gate in a reasonable amount of time. That’s not what we received.

Poor Whistle did not have the opportunity to relieve himself and he was desperate to go out once we landed in Albuquerque. The Albuquerque airport does not have a specific dog relief area either. There is a grassy area that is unfenced and located outside the security perimeter where he relieves himself. And of course, there are no baggies or readily available trash bins.

I am contemplating filing a complaint with all three airports regarding their lack of compliance with the Department of Transportation requirement. I do not like to file complaints but I fear if we don’t self-advocate, this lack of responsiveness will continue indefinitely. Have you had any airport experiences with service dog relief areas? Did you file a complaint?

Traveling with a Service Dog

Traveling with a disability has always been an adventure but adding a service dog to the equation can create additional needs and experiences. I don’t know about you but I have had some pretty close calls trying to find a place to toilet my dog in places such as busy airports during long distance national and international travels and in urban cities that have little or no vegetation. On a recent trip to Denver, Colorado I had a similar experience.

I was a member of a conference planning team that was planning to hold a national conference in downtown Denver. We found the perfect hotel. Well, almost perfect. The hotel had no available toilet relief area for my service dog or for any assistance dog that might be attending the conference with his or her human partner. The hotel was located directly across from Denver’s Convention Center. Denver is a modern, western city. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the chance to visit Denver’s Convention Center? Along with an incredible 40 feet tall steel blue bear that was created by the artist Lawrence Argent and peers inside the Convention Center’s glass windows is a sign that simply states “no dogs allowed on the grass”.

Well, we all know what that means. Here we were gazing at this beautifully landscaped green grassy area that no service dog, or any other dogs for that matter, can access. Instead, we had to travel by foot quite a distance through some downtown areas that felt a little insecure to the only available toileting area. This was not acceptable and was a potential deal breaker for this hotel to secure the contract.

I spoke with the hotel administrators about it and they vowed to solve this problem in order to win the contract to hold the conference at their hotel. We were all skeptical and a little nervous about this issue. As the months went by and the conference date rapidly approached, I would periodically call the hotel and ask how they were progressing toward a remedy for the relief area dilemma. I was always assured not to worry that the problem would be solved.

When the conference finally rolled around Whistle and I traveled to the hotel. We arrived after a six hour drive and Whistle had refused the opportunity to toilet when we stopped for gas. We both were delighted to see that the hotel staff had indeed remedied the situation. As we pulled into the parking garage, the valet proudly informed us that the a doggie relief area had been created within the parking garage. To Whistle’s relief (in more ways than one) we saw the doggie relief area as soon as we pulled into the accessible parking space. It appeared that the hotel maintenance staff had made a square area by strapping together the ends of 4” x 4” 8 foot long, pre-treated boards. I am guessing they used two 4’ x 8’ plywood sheets underneath to support the sod that was laid neatly on top.

Perhaps the best part of this grassy relief area was the red, wood fire hydrant that had been crafted and placed in the middle of the relief area. Also in the immediate vicinity was a stand that housed plastic bags for disposing of waste, paper towels, and a bottle of hand sanitizer. The hotel had indeed solved the problem and provided a safer, discreet, and much more readily accessible venue for assistance dogs and other canine guests to safely toilet. They had also strategically placed the structure in an area that allowed for both adequate wheelchair access around the structure and easy access to the structure from the garage elevators. This was a win, win situation for everyone involved and it gave me another story to share with my friends about the adventures of traveling with a service dog.