Since a pitbull attacked a child in an airport recently in my state, and the airline said the person presented a letter that was not verified as their proof of the animal being a "service animal", I am terrified of these dogs. I encountered a pitbull in a grocery store several months ago, and the owner knew he was not supposed to have the dog in the store. However, since there was no checker or security around, he took advantage of the opportunity to let his pitbull accompany him on his...

I share your frustration. I have been asking the federal government to strengthening the ADA so that there is some oversight. When it was enacted years ago, there were fewer conditions which used service dogs. The number of conditions covered has grown dramatically and the abuse of the law has spiraled out of control. There is no scientific evidence that some of these conditions are helped by service dogs, and there is no regulation of organizations which claim to train service dogs to work...

The problem is that AAFA is not aggressively fighting this problem of pet dogs and emotional support pets in public buildings without let up. They need to make this a prominent focal point of allergy and asthma prevention. This is perhaps the primary health risk to people with dander-sensitive asthma and allergies, yet it is virtually ignored publicly by AAFA and other so-called health support programs!

I agree that there needs to be more emphasis on animal allergies. I have asked the president of the AAFA, Kenny Mendez, for more aid in battling the onslaught of animals in public places. I have been told by the AAFA that they have limited resources, and food allergies have taken precedence. I am concerned now that service dogs are being trained to detect food allergens, basically pitting one allergy group against another. If others on this board speak directly to the president of the AAFA...

I spoke with a representative at AAFA in December 2018. Although she said that AAFA has brought the perspectives of people with dander-sensitive disabilities to the Department of Transportation (DOT) (because the airline industry doesn't have to honor our ADA rights), AAFA does not, from what I can locate, seem to be doing any serious, aggressive public campaigns on our behalf. You are correct that AAFA seems to be primarily focused on food allergies; they also hide behind arbitrary "air...

Thank you for the link.