3 days ago
Emotional twist for autistic girl heartlessly separated from her support dog at airport
An non-verbal autistic girl has been reunited with her support dog after the pet was blocked from accompanying her on a flight - leaving the child without her beloved pooch for several weeks.
Teddy, a Labrador, was accompanied by a trainer and departed from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the flight to Lisbon, Portugal on Friday, according to the news outlet G1.
The ordeal began back on April 8, after 12-year-old Alice Porto, who suffers from autism, moved to Portugal with her family after her father, a doctor, accepted a job there.
The family was waiting to check in at the airport when a representative for TAP Air Portugal informed them that the ticket for Teddy had been cancelled the previous day because the dog's documents were not going to be accepted upon landing in Portugal.
After obtaining a court order and the proper documentation, a second attempt to get Teddy overseas on May 24 fell short when Teddy he was blocked from sitting with Alice's sister, Hayanne, on the flight because he was not traveling with the person to whom he provided support.
The airline suggested that the family place Teddy in the plane's hold, but they rejected the offer, arguing that he could not be placed in the cargo area because he was a service dog.
The airline countered that not doing so would ignore the company's operation guidelines and put the passengers and crew in danger.
Hayanne and Teddy were booked later in the day on another flight, which was delayed by three hours. Just as they were set to board, the airline obtained a court order allowing the aircraft to leave Brazil without Alice's sister and her dog.
To make matters worse, the family had to obtain another International Veterinary Certificate because the document would have expired by the time the flight arrived in Portugal.
The separation generated episodes of emotional distress for Alice, who spent all of last week awaiting for Teddy to arrive.
Her parents had a difficult time explaining why she had to wait to be reunited with Teddy.
'She communicates through an app,' her father told G1.
'We explained that it was an unforeseen event, but we can't explain this injunction situation and the real reason why the dog didn't board the plane.'
The failed attempts caused Silvio Costa Filho, Brazil's Minister of Ports and Airports, to intervene last Tuesday.
As part of the agreement between the airline and the family, Teddy was allowed to board the flight with Hayanne and Ricardo Cazarotte, who retired from training dogs for the São Paulo Military Police's kennel and who was responsible for training Teddy for a year and a half.
'We who train know how important this dog is. It must already be triggering several crises,' Cazarotte told Brazilian news outlet G1.
'If you take the autistic person out of his routine, it triggers aggression, anxiety. My role here is to organize this meeting, to make her happy and him happy too.'
