TLDR: Any advice on submitting DoT complaints or handling access issues with Southwest?
I have a psychiatric SD that is self trained with the help of so many online resources and people. I was trying to travel back home from visiting family for a week when the Southwest gate agent denied me entry since I had put myself as the trainer on the DoT form. I have flown with my SD since 2020 and we have never had any issues with this since the form started being implemented a few years later (when he was in training he flew as an ESA before the access rules changed).
Eventually they did allow me entry after the whole ordeal triggered a panic attack (and they saw my dog tasking). However I missed my flight, ended up taking medication that I try to avoid since it makes me extra drowsy and was rebooked with a connecting flight (I try to avoid this when flying with my SD).
I am planning on filing a complaint with the Department of Transportation. My husband took pictures as things ramped up. But I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this? I feel like we should file something with Southwest specifically too.
I also want to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future. It's really messed with my head and was just a completely awful day. The gate agent basically told me (without explicitly telling me) that I can put anything in the trainer field that isn't my name and they won't flag it. But that feels super weird and wrong. They let me through because I filled out a new form with the name of a YouTube channel I used a lot. I hate this though because in my mind I'm basically saying that org is liable for anything my SD does and that's not fair to them.