Fred the service pony, or Freckle Butt Fred, as he’s known formally, is certified as both a service and therapy animal. This certification enabled him to fly for the first time earlier this month with his owner Ronica Froese of Croton, Michigan.
The flight took off in Grand Rapids, Michigan, stopped in Dallas and then flew to Ontario, California. Fred had his own seat booked alongside his owner in first class – although he only making use of the standing room.
Measuring only 66cm heigh and 52kg Fred has been trained to help Froese who has an autoimmune disease.
‘When I’m really sick, I struggle to walk, I struggle to fix things up, I can’t bend over. Fred is fully directed retrieval trained… So if I drop something, Fred will pick it up and hand it to me. If I need him to go grab me something, I can point at an object. He can go get my shoes for me,’ she told CNN.
‘Fred was the definition of a perfect service animal in flight. Everyone loved him. Pilots, co-pilots, flight attendants, TSA, airport staff and all the passengers were kind. Lots of passengers were so amazed how well he behaved,’ she said.
She told Fox News that she ‘paid an arm and a leg for tickets but I did so because it was Fred’s first time and I wanted him to be comfortable. I wanted him to have the most room,’ she said. ‘Everyone was sweet as pie, TSA was amazing. The experience was way better than I actually anticipated.’
Unfortunately, Froese also experienced negative reactions on social media after a photo of Fred, who was wearing a sleeve to stop his dander and hair from floating through the aeroplane, went viral. She subsequently expressed disappointment at the ‘hatred’ she received on social media and thanked CBS News for setting the record straight in and article which she shared to her Facebook page.
Fred’s first flight could also be his last as the US Department of Transportation made a proposal, last month, to restrict service animals to only dogs.
Image credit: Ronica Froese
Also read: Adorable bunny travels in business class
