service dogs

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

I wonder how what they do to glean the cabin afterwards for future guests with dog allergies? I hope they do something different to help that. Interesting about the kiddie pool! Guess you'd need a verandah can for all that.

The cabins are supposed to get a special, more thorough cleaning. Whether it happens every time or not, who can say.

They do not necessarily need a verandah, although it makes things simpler. Not everyone can afford it though. On the Classic ships, we've seen the Puppy Potty on the Secret Aft Deck on Deck 7 several times. We saw the PP out on Deck 4 of the Dream on another cruise.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

On our recent cruise there was a service dog. He was very friendly, he sat quietly next to the lady at dinner and was well behaved. However, my opinion only is that he was not assisting her on the cruise. Her husband was with her on the cruise, and it was mearly a way for them to bring the dog on the ship. The woman was not in a wheel chair, nor have a cane and did not have vision issues. I even asked her if he was in training to be a service dog, and she commented "No" he is my dog. Please don't bash me on this, I feel service dogs are very important, but not to be used as a means to bring them with you on vacation.

[RedSox68]

Originally Posted by cruisinwithmaandpa

On our recent cruise there was a service dog. He was very friendly, he sat quietly next to the lady at dinner and was well behaved. However, my opinion only is that he was not assisting her on the cruise. Her husband was with her on the cruise, and it was mearly a way for them to bring the dog on the ship. The woman was not in a wheel chair, nor have a cane and did not have vision issues. I even asked her if he was in training to be a service dog, and she commented "No" he is my dog. Please don't bash me on this, I feel service dogs are very important, but not to be used as a means to bring them with you on vacation.

The need for them is NOT always visible to you. We have a student who has a service dog. At first glance, she appears just fine, can see, can walk, etc. HOWEVER, she suffers debilitating seizures and the dog can sense when they are coming on and warn her. Yes, the dog is a vital part of her life and she can't go anywhere without it.

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Originally Posted by cruisinwithmaandpa

On our recent cruise there was a service dog. He was very friendly, he sat quietly next to the lady at dinner and was well behaved. However, my opinion only is that he was not assisting her on the cruise. Her husband was with her on the cruise, and it was mearly a way for them to bring the dog on the ship. The woman was not in a wheel chair, nor have a cane and did not have vision issues. I even asked her if he was in training to be a service dog, and she commented "No" he is my dog. Please don't bash me on this, I feel service dogs are very important, but not to be used as a means to bring them with you on vacation.

Not everyone who has a 'service' dog has a visible disability, epileptics have 'service dogs' that warn of pending seizure.

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Originally Posted by RedSox68

The need for them is NOT always visible to you. We have a student who has a service dog. At first glance, she appears just fine, can see, can walk, etc. HOWEVER, she suffers debilitating seizures and the dog can sense when they are coming on and warn her. Yes, the dog is a vital part of her life and she can't go anywhere without it.

I should should have read all the way down before I replied, I agree with you 100%

[Favorite Auntie]

The cruise line will require documentation, I am sure that was in fact a service dog. There are all sorts of reasons that a person would have a service dog that you and I couldn't see.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

Originally Posted by SoCaOC-Mom

Not everyone who has a 'service' dog has a visible disability, epileptics have 'service dogs' that warn of pending seizure.

Point well taken, thank you, again not trying to be mean or insensitive.

[TDC Nala]

If the dog is a service dog they are by law required to allow it onboard. Note that some ports (like Hawaii) may require shots and immunizations to be up to date and recorded. The dog on the Hawaii cruise was likely not permitted to disembark in the islands if there was a requirement for it to be quarantined; don't know if ADA trumps that state regulation because ADA is federal law.

I don't know the requirements regarding providing documentation that the dog is, in fact, a service dog. I understand that in some situations the business may be barred by law from even asking why the person needs the animal.

In some instances it is probably true that persons are able to bring along their pets by claiming they are service dogs, but that's really not determinable.

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Originally Posted by cruisinwithmaandpa

Point well taken, thank you, again not trying to be mean or insensitive.

No worries, I didn't think you were trying to be mean or insensitive. I think most people are in agreement with the spirit of your post which meant to say that ADA law in regards to the use of service animals is not intended to be exploited so that people can bring family 'pets' on board with them.

I think some people have their animals trained to be 'therapy' dogs and although they are not protected under ADA law, it seems like many cruise lines don't see the distinction and allow them on board.

[cruisinwithmaandpa]

Originally Posted by SoCaOC-Mom

No worries, I didn't think you were trying to be mean or insensitive. I think most people are in agreement with the spirit of your post which meant to say that ADA law in regards to the use of service animals is not intended to be exploited so that people can bring family 'pets' on board with them.

I think some people have their animals trained to be 'therapy' dogs and although they are not protected under ADA law, it seems like many cruise lines don't see the distinction and allow them on board.

[Debbie H]

Originally Posted by kcashner

Yes...real ones and questionable ones. However, there has been at least one instance of a supposed service dog biting another guest; that dog has been permanently banned from the cruise line.

I have a service dog, trained and registered. He has saved my life on multiple occasions. He is a shih-tzu. Not what one would think to be a service dog. He is trained to alert me of my blood sugars. People don't respect service animals. My dog is small and very cute, clearly marked he is a service dog but yet people will come up and start petting him. They are working! People should ask if they can be petted. I've had adults have their children come up and pet him. I wonder what the circumstance was of the dog bite. I agree, some people abuse the system, but it's very hard to get them trained and certified plus expensive. Mine has papers and a photo ID. We have to go through all the countries the cruise goes to and get authorization and permission from those countries to have the animal come into port and the Captain has to show that info to the government officials. We are in the process of getting ours allowed to get to Grand Cayman. We do not plan to get off the ship, however, we still have to have it. It's a 3 month process and can get very expensive.

[Debbie H]

Originally Posted by cruisinwithmaandpa

On our recent cruise there was a service dog. He was very friendly, he sat quietly next to the lady at dinner and was well behaved. However, my opinion only is that he was not assisting her on the cruise. Her husband was with her on the cruise, and it was mearly a way for them to bring the dog on the ship. The woman was not in a wheel chair, nor have a cane and did not have vision issues. I even asked her if he was in training to be a service dog, and she commented "No" he is my dog. Please don't bash me on this, I feel service dogs are very important, but not to be used as a means to bring them with you on vacation.

I agree. That may have been me at that table. He is not in training and yes, he is my dog. He lays quietly at my feet during dinner and is very cute. I pick him up at times and hold him. He will sniff me and lick me, just like a pet however, he is working. He monitors my diabetes. Does that mean I need to have a cane, a wheelchair, or vision issues? He can smell ketones that a human or my husband, a doctor, can't smell. Also, he has detected problems in the middle of the night, while we were sleeping and alerted us. I shutter to think what would happened if we didn't have him, husband was sleeping so he could not have assisted me. Anything else you want to ask about service dogs? As they say, don't judge a book by its cover. These dogs help with seizures and all sorts of illness. It is expensive to get one. Im talking $20,000 or more. we don't get them for fun and yes, they are still our pets and we love them like our children. With me it can mean a matter of life or death. I take life.

I don't think you are trying to be mean in your posts. It's a matter of not knowing and asking questions. Everyone thinks they need to be a big animal. Trust me, I wish he was just my pet and I didn't need him for his service.

[kdeans1010]

Originally Posted by bahacca

Hawaii has VERY strict laws regarding bringing dogs onto the island. They have to be quarantined before they are allowed on the islands, so this is probably why. Service dogs have to have antibodies tests, proof of rabies vaccine, be microchipped and a bunch of other stuff before they are allowed on the island.

I had recently checked about moving to Hawaii (my mentor is thinking about moving there and I thought... I'd island jump from WA to Hawaii) with my golden retriever. There didn't look to be a quarantine. They even said "we don't require a quarantine anymore." But the other end of that is they require a lot of paperwork.

[Plaid Princess]

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

I wonder how what they do to glean the cabin afterwards for future guests with dog allergies? I hope they do something different to help that. Interesting about the kiddie pool! Guess you'd need a veranda can for all that.

It probably follows the same standards as a hotel, the room is cleaned much deeper after a guest with a service animal departs (carpets, furniture, and curtains etc steam cleaned).

[kcashner]

Originally Posted by Debbie H

I have a service dog, trained and registered. He has saved my life on multiple occasions. He is a shih-tzu. Not what one would think to be a service dog. He is trained to alert me of my blood sugars. People don't respect service animals. My dog is small and very cute, clearly marked he is a service dog but yet people will come up and start petting him. They are working! People should ask if they can be petted. I've had adults have their children come up and pet him. I wonder what the circumstance was of the dog bite. I agree, some people abuse the system, but it's very hard to get them trained and certified plus expensive. Mine has papers and a photo ID. We have to go through all the countries the cruise goes to and get authorization and permission from those countries to have the animal come into port and the Captain has to show that info to the government officials. We are in the process of getting ours allowed to get to Grand Cayman. We do not plan to get off the ship, however, we still have to have it. It's a 3 month process and can get very expensive.

No disrespect intended. This dog was a problem--yapping and snapping at guests until it finally bit one. It behaved quite differently from any service dog we'd ever seen. We have been involved in training puppies prior to being sent to a school for seeing eye dogs, and have also done "dog sitting" during the American Federation of the Blind conference. We have friends who opt to not take their dogs to the banquet, preferring to give them a "night off" bu they would never think of leaving their very valuable animals alone in a hotel room.

My experience is that a service dog on duty is well behaved; we were somewhat surprised the first time we saw our friends' dogs without their harnesses--they turned in to very playful creatures...but they'd never act that way while "on duty."

We've seen dogs of many sizes and varieties on DCL--again, with this one exception well behaved. This one just left me scratching my head.