Weather 
It’s a mile-high menagerie.
Amid an epidemic of pet worship, planes have seen some unlikely animals as service critters, turning the friendly skies into a veritable Noah’s (B)Ark with wings.
The im-fur-sonator surge was arguably facilitated by lax laws that allowed anyone to obtain an Emotional Support Animal Certificate, the Guardian reported. During the COVID pandemic in 2020, the Department of Transportation (DoT) changed the rules to allow only trained service dogs on aircraft, but opportunists gamed the system by slapping a vest on Fluffy the Teacup Poodle and dubbing them on-duty.
This scourge of animal-stolen valor hasn’t been limited to canines, either. In 2023, a passenger tried to bring an “emotional support pet” boa constrictor snake named Batholomew through security at Tampa International Airport, but was busted after the serpent showed up on the X-ray machine.
“Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find this hyssssssterical!” wrote the TSA on Instagram, adding that taking a “snake on a plane” was strictly prohibited.
Along with being a nuisance, faux helper critters can attack people and bona fide service animals and give a bad rap to legitimate service critters, impacting people with disabilities who actually need them, according to Kake.com.
Fortunately, while counterfeit comfort canines are better camouflaged — getting fed treats, being spoken to in baby talk, and resting on pillows are some dead giveaways, per Gary Leff of A View From the Wing — the inflight exotica is easy to spot.
Nonetheless, we’ve decided to round up the top ten craziest critters that have ever been brought aboard the increasingly pet-friendly skies.
Dane on a plane
Flying nowadays can feel like you died and went to dog heaven. In the most ridiculous instance in May, San Francisco influencer Piêtra Luccas brought her so-called service Great Dane aboard a United Airlines flight, as seen in a hair-raising Instagram video.
While the plus-size pup received the green light from crewmembers, viewers were appalled over this veritable wolf in service animal’s clothing.
One Instagram critic spluttered, “She knows damn well that’s not a service dog.”
“Who brings a horse on an airplane?” another spat, referencing the frame of the behemoth breed, which can reach up to 32 inches at the shoulder and weigh a massive 175 pounds, per the American Kennel Club.
“The absolute narcissism of the day,” fumed a third.
This wasn’t the first Dane on a plane, either. Traveler Gabriel Bogner, 27, found himself in the crosshairs in 2023 after schlepping his 140-pound Dane named Darwin on a flight from NYC to Los Angeles — but the colossal canine was praised by fellow passengers for being better behaved than some humans.
Have you ever seen a horse-fly?
A flight from Michigan to Ontario got some extra horsepower after Ronica Froese brought her 115-pound miniature service equine Fred aboard in 2020.
Froese, who was diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease, said her service horse is trained to help her pick up objects when she can’t bend over or lift.
Despite receiving a lot of flak for her unlikely travel companion, Froese correctly noted that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approved miniature horses as service animals in 2011.
Flying squirrel
In 2018, Cindy Torok was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight to Cleveland after attempting to bring her emotional support squirrel, Daisy, aboard.
The passenger, who used her scruffy seatmate to ease her anxiety in crowds, claimed she’d obtained a letter from her doctor, with backing by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fox 8 reported. She said her daughter also called the carrier in advance to get the green light.
However, airline reps argued that while Torok claimed she was bringing a support critter aboard, she didn’t indicate what kind.
The passenger said she made it through TSA and into her seat before getting escorted off by five cops.
“They said, ‘Either you walk off the plane, or I’m going to arrest you for trespassing, and we will take that squirrel,’” said Torok, relaying the nutty incident. “I said, ‘You’re not taking my squirrel. Sorry, you’re not. I refuse. You will not take my baby from me.’”
She subsequently sued the airline for barring her tree-hopping travel mate.
Just winging it
This peacock couldn’t fly — in more ways than one. In 2018, United Airlines denied boarding to a peafowl named Dexter that was trying to fly from Newark to Los Angeles.
Shocking photos showed the resplendent pheasant and the bird-brained woman, who had a second ticket for the fine-feathered friend.
Nonetheless, United was quick to figuratively clip the colorful avian’s wings.
“This animal did not meet guidelines for a number of reasons, including its weight and size,” airline reps said in a statement. “We explained this to the customers on three separate occasions before they arrived at the airport.”
Little bunny flew-flew
In 2018, an eight-year-old rabbit named Coco embarked on a short hop from SFO to Japan courtesy United Airlines.
Owner Takako Ogawa was flying back home to Kyoto with the bunny, whom he registered as an emotional support animal, even paying $100 to bring her in a portable kennel as a carry-on. She even had her own seat.
Coco took to her hare-raising adventure in style — she reportedly sported a bowtie, but was changed into a bib while enjoying a mid-flight snack of nuts so she wouldn’t get crumbs all over.
Beware swine flew
Speaking of animals on the no-fly list, a female passenger garnered gawks after carrying her emotional support pig aboard a US Airways flight from Connecticut to Washington.
Fellow flyer Robert Phelps estimated that the plane-riding porker weighed between 70-80 pounds.
“Everybody was trying to surmise what it could be, because no one thought it was a pig,” he said. “Other than a Fellini movie, where would you see a person with a pig?”
While initially allowed to bring the truffle hunter aboard as an “emotional support animal” under Department of Transportation guidelines, she and her swine were jettisoned before takeoff for being disrupted, per airline reps.
It’s unclear whether she’ll be able to bring aboard in the future — maybe when pigs fly.
Service to Turkey?
Looks like gobblers aren’t as flightless as people claim. A Delta passenger reportedly ruffled feathers after toting a live, winged and feathered turkey onboard as an Emotional Support bird, as seen in photos circulating on Reddit, USA Today reported.
“My neighbor is a flight attendant,” Reddit user biggestlittlepickle wrote. “He just posted this picture of someone’s ‘therapy pet’ on his flight.”
Absurd photos showed the T-day mascot peering through the gap in the seats.
