A passenger on a Delta Airlines was bitten on the face by a veteran’s emotional support canine while boarding flight 1430 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The incident occurred Sunday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; the plane was bound for San Diego, California.
According to a witness, the canine was a Labrador mix that weighed about fifty pounds. The owner was sitting in the middle seat, with the canine, and the victim was next to the window.
“The dog had been growling at the gentleman and the gentleman said, ‘is this dog going to bite me?’ three times,” said passenger Bridget Maddox-Peoples.
Yet, none of the employees aboard the aircraft came to the scene. “There was a call for help, you could hear dog growling and a bark. And someone screaming, ‘I need help there is a medical emergency,’” Maddox-Peoples stated. The desperate call for help went unrecognized by Delta’s flight squad.
The crew finally arrived when it was already too late. The victim’s face and shirt were covered in blood. Maddox-Peoples claimed that Delta’s crew immediately ordered medical assistance and the paramedics escorted the victim off the aircraft.
The events leading up to the attack are unclear. The one thing passengers know for certain is that the victim was clearly shaken up by the gory incident.
Police reported that the victim, Marlin Termaine Jackson of Daphne, Ala., was transferred to the emergency room “in stable condition, but severe injury to the face due to several dog bites.”
The flight crew ushered the passengers and the support dog off the plane, while sanitized every nook and cranny that was splashed by blood.
Meanwhile, Delta broadcasted the following statement: “Prior to pushback of flight 1430, ATL-SAN, a passenger sustained a bite from another passenger’s emotional support dog. The customer who was bitten was removed from the flight to receive medical attention. Local law enforcement cleared the dog, and the dog and its owner were re-accommodated on a later flight; the dog will fly in a kennel.”
The police also identified the canine’s owner as Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. of Mills River, N.C., a military service member with the U.S. Marine Corps. The owner advised authorities that his “chocolate lab pointer mix” was released to him for emotional support only.
Surprisingly, Mundy was not charged for his canine’s actions. One of the consequences was that the dog had to be secured in a crate for the duration of the flight. However, Mundy was allowed to fly with his companion as long as he stayed inside the kennel.
The trending question is whether Delta will change their policies. Sources have revealed that Delta is currently investigating the details of the incident, but have no updates right now.
Delta’s website states it “complies with the Air Carrier Access Act by allowing customers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to travel without charge.”
However, there is a catch to that statement. The animal “must be trained to behave properly in public settings as service animals do. A kennel is not required for emotional support animals if they are fully trained and meet same requirements as a service animal,” says Delta’s site.
