A Woman Tried To Get My Dog Kicked Off The Plane — But What Happened Next Surprised Everyone
I had just settled into my window seat with my small dog Finn lying quietly under the seat when a woman across the aisle loudly declared she was allergic and he couldn’t be there. The flight attendant approached, tense, and the woman claimed I hadn’t disclosed Finn, despite me showing all the proper emotional support animal paperwork. She then started coughing dramatically, causing a scene.
The crew asked her to step aside, and that’s when a man in first class recognized her as Tasha Kauffman—infamous for previous disruptive behavior on flights. The woman was promptly escorted off the plane, and we faced a delay while they retrieved her luggage.
Later, at the airport, a woman with a baby thanked me for standing up to Tasha. She shared how Tasha’s similar behavior on her flight had forced her support cat to fly in cargo, where sadly it didn’t survive.
Two days after, I got a call from a United Airlines employee who said my pushback helped trigger an internal review of Tasha’s history of false complaints against support animals.
Weeks later, I received a $300 check and a request from a nonprofit to share my story. When I did, I heard from dozens of people inspired by my courage, including my brother—who I hadn’t spoken to in a year—reaching out to reconnect.
That woman on the plane barely crosses my mind now. Instead, I focus on the good that came from speaking up. It might not change everything—but it can change someone’s world. And that’s more than enough.
