David Koenig / AP
(DALLAS) — Southwest Airlines said Thursday that a dog injured a child as passengers boarded a flight in Phoenix, an event likely to fuel the debate over the growing number of emotional-support animals on planes.
A passenger on Wednesday’s Phoenix-to-Portland, Oregon, flight tweeted that a dog bit a girl as she approached it, and that she screamed and cried. The man, Todd Rice, did not immediately respond to a Twitter message seeking further comment.
Southwest said the dog’s teeth “scraped a child’s forehead” and paramedics checked the girl, who appeared to be 6 or 7 years old.
Southwest spokeswoman Melissa Ford said the dog was in the plane’s first row of seats with its owner, who said he warned the girl not to approach his dog.