TSA disaster and follow up

So on our way back from GA we had a TSA incident. Not that I don't always have an incident with the TSA. I had looked up the TSA rules on service dogs on their website and it specifically says that they will never ask to remove items from a service dog. They also say that you must retain control of your dog at all times, which is a no-brainer.
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1056.shtm

"You must assist with the inspection process by controlling the service animal while the Security Officer conducts the inspection. You are required to maintain control of the animal in a manner that ensures the animal cannot harm the Security Officer."


"If your service dog alarms the walk through metal detector, the Security Officer will ask your permission and assistance before they touch you service dog and its belongings. The Security Officer will then perform a physical inspection of your dog and its belongings (collar, harness, leash, backpack, vest, etc.) The belongings will not be removed from your dog at any time."




When we went through, they specifically asked us to take all of her equipment off, including her vest, leash, harness and collar. I'm pretty confident that that means they were violating both rules right there because we would have no way to control her except grabbing her by the back of her neck. Then they didn't bother to explain that they wanted us to drop her leash and have her go through the metal detector on her own, which again would violate a rule.  So they were either going to search Mika or me, and of course I chose to be patted down. The screeners were incredibly rude and the woman who groped me had the nerve to say "You should have done what you were told." So I was being punished? Very professional you losers. 


It wasn't just me, I saw them do this to two other people. One chose to hang onto her dog's flea collar (which still has metal on it) and one got felt up like I did. When I got home I sent a polite email to the TSA, and boy was it hard to keep it polite. I received an email yesterday telling me that because it was a specific incident at ATL they forwarded my email to the TSA manager there. Yesterday afternoon I received an email from that manager offering to talk about the incident. I doubt it will do any good whatsoever, but I'm going to take her up on that offer. It was appalling how things were handled. How can I ever let Mika fly solo some day when I know that means an automatic pat down? Not gonna happen.


I'll give the TSA woman a call today and see what she has to say, then I'll update you with the conversation. I'm sure it's going to be a doozy.