Feds to allow animals providing emotional support on planes WASHINGTON (AP) =97 Airline passengers who rely on cats, monkeys or other=20 animals for emotional support may be able to bring the animals into a=20 plane's seating compartment under revised federal guidelines. Previously,=20 cabin permission generally was given only for animals that helped people=20 with physical disabilities, usually a blind person who needed a guide dog.= =20 The airlines industry and advocates for the disabled asked the government=20 to clarify and expand the definition of a "service animal," since more=20 people now use other animals like cats or monkeys. Transportation=20 Department officials say these animals are used for a wider variety of=20 functions, such as helping to pull wheelchairs or alerting a person with=20 epilepsy that a seizure is imminent. Other animals now can be taken aboard= =20 for emotional support. However, passengers who take advantage of this=20 provision may be required to show proof from a doctor or psychologist that= =20 the animal is required to help with a mental health condition. Each=20 situation should be considered on a case-by-case basis, the department said= =20 in guidelines released Friday. The revised guidelines also clarified that=20 animals that pose a public risk would not be allowed in cabins, such as=20 snakes, ferrets, rodents or spiders. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.cso.gov.tt TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************