Your emotional support peacock is ruining the system for those who really need it

Emotional support animals seem to be in the news constantly these days, with endless stories of people brandishing official documentation as they try to get their peacocks, turkeys, and hamsters a seat next to them on a flight. And what pet owner among us hasn’t briefly looked into getting our own animal registered as an ESA (emotional support animal), thinking it would be a pleasant (and cheaper) alternative to a pet-sitter for our next trip out of town? But these situations, and internal queries, raise real questions, like: Do animals really help people? Does that mean the animals get carte blanche to go everywhere? Are emotional support animals even legitimate?