AVMA, United partner to board emotional support animals safely, legally for allMarch 9, 2018The American Veterinary Medical Association and the AVMA Professional Liability Insurance Trust have entered into the emotional support animal-airline travel challenge. United Airlines recently announced a new policy requiring a veterinary signature vouching for the health, behavior, and training of psychiatric service and emotional support animals flying with its passengers. The airline said the policy took effect March 1. The AVMA reviewed United's veterinary health form and expressed concern that the information it requested might not appropriately support the health and welfare of their animal and human passengers—and that it created potential liability risks for veterinarians attesting to them. After collaborating with United, the airline has adopted AVMA recommendations and will be posting a new form on their website that reflects alternate language. The new form will allow veterinarians to confidently report meaningful information to assist United in making decisions about transporting psychiatric service or emotional support animals on its flights, according to the AVMA. Requested revisions include: The form should be completed and signed only by a licensed veterinarian. The original version asked a veterinarian to attest that s/he "is not aware of any reason to believe that this animal would pose …
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What you should know about emotional support animalsSeptember 27, 2016After qualifying to travel with an emotional support animal, a 45-year-old woman telephoned Joanne Williams, LCSW, of Next Generation Psychology, which performs emotional support animal evaluations, saying, “You’ve changed my life. Who knew that my cat could enable me to have a new life?”
