There are disabled people, blind folks as an example, who trust their very lives to their service animals. A service animal is not a pet. A comfort animal is a pet.
The definitions of service animal and comfort animal have become blurred, mostly by the comfort animal people pushing the envelope that should never have been pushed.
It takes many months of rigorous training to prepare a service animal to do it’s job. Not so with a comfort animal.
I have great respect for people with true service animals, like the blind. However, exactly what service does a dog provide a blind person on an airplane?
The dog cannot guide the person to their assigned seat. There is not nearly enough foot room for a dog below the seat.
I postulate that the vast, overwhelming majority of animals at airports are simply pets, and frankly I’m sick of it.