A dog that was supposed to provide emotional support to its owner bit and badly injured another passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight to San Diego.
The incident took place while the flight was preparing to take off from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The passenger was taken off the flight to receive medical attention. Another passenger told TV station Fox News: "The gentleman’s face was completely bloody, blood in his eyes, cheeks, nose, his mouth, his shirt was covered in blood."
The dog and its owner were also removed and later allowed to travel with the dog in a pet carrier.
The airline said: "Prior to pushback of flight 1430, a passenger sustained a bite from another passenger’s emotional support dog. The customer who was bitten was removed from the flight to receive medical attention. Local law enforcement cleared the dog, and the dog and its owner were re-accommodated on a later flight in a kennel."
The dog’s owner has not been named but was described as a ‘combat veteran.’
According to news reports, he was seen back in the terminal in tears, repeatedly saying: "I know they’re going to put him down."
Asked whether it will lead to a change in policy for emotional support animals, Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the airline is ‘currently examining the details of the event.’
