Small Dog on the Dream!

[XrayChicken]

Hello all! I just returned today from a wonderful trip on the Dream. (Feb. 9-12)

I have sailed the Wonder and the Magic in the past and saw something on the Dream that I never thought I'd see......a small dog.

I thought I was seeing things so I had my husband look to. There was a large man standing outside of the Walt Disney Theatre holding a small terrier in his arms. He was complaining about a problem he was having in the theatre to one of the employees.

Since I don't see how this could be a service dog, how did it get on board? I thought pets weren't allowed?


And I just wanted to say that the Dream was wonderful! I've seen some negative reports on here but we had a totally positive experience and booked the Fantasy for 2013 while on board!

 

[zealandsmom]

Hello all! I just returned today from a wonderful trip on the Dream. (Feb. 9-12)

I have sailed the Wonder and the Magic in the past and saw something on the Dream that I never thought I'd see......a small dog.

I thought I was seeing things so I had my husband look to. There was a large man standing outside of the Walt Disney Theatre holding a small terrier in his arms. He was complaining about a problem he was having in the theatre to one of the employees.

Since I don't see how this could be a service dog, how did it get on board? I thought pets weren't allowed?


And I just wanted to say that the Dream was wonderful! I've seen some negative reports on here but we had a totally positive experience and booked the Fantasy for 2013 while on board!

A guy at my church has a min-pin as his service dog. And when I was a flight attendant I saw many "service" dogs.

 

[vwlizard]

I very well could have been a service dog. I've seen posts on Dis about people with small service dogs for things like anxiety, PTSD, seizures, etc.

 

[ElenaRN]

Even though it didn't look like a "typical service dog", it may have been.
I know we all probably think of labs or retriever type dogs being the most common breeds for seeing eye/serivce dogs.
There are also dogs who can sense pending seizure activity and stuff like that.

Otherwise the only other reason I can think of would be if it was part of some show but I don't recall any live animals in any of the entertainment.

 

[kcashner]

If you so a search, there was a LONG thread about "service animals."

Most animals are totally legit--trained and appropriately certified. However, it is relatively easy to have a pet certified as a service animal, and DCL is only able to verify that the animal is certified and appropriately vaccinated.

 

[XrayChicken]

Never even thought that a small dog could be a service dog but I guess they can. Learn something new everyday.

How would they accomodate the dog's restroom needs? Puppie pads? Seems that a dog on board would open up all sorts of problems.

It just took me by surprise.

 

[kcashner]

Never even thought that a small dog could be a service dog but I guess they can. Learn something new everyday.

How would they accomodate the dog's restroom needs? Puppie pads? Seems that a dog on board would open up all sorts of problems.

.

Some service animals prefer grass, others will us a gravelly sort of mix (similar to cat litter). If the guest has a verandah, the container (for a larger dog it looks like a toddler pool) is placed on their verandah and tended to at least daily by the statroom host. If the guest doesn't have a verandah, they use deck 7 aft on the Magic and Wonder.

A properly trained service animal is really no trouble. Yes, there have been issues on board with some animals of questionable provenance.

 

[mmouse37]

this topic comes up every so often.....and I too wondered about dogs on DCL. This thread provides a good discussion on the subject.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2481534&highlight=dog

And another thread that I know has pics of how they handle service dogs "bathroom" needs.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1844298&page=2

MJ

 

[starwood]

On our West Coast cruise there was someone with a small Sheltie service dog. This dog was so well behaved. They brought it into Parrot Cay and it just sat under the table while they ate. If it was my Beagle he would have been going from table to table begging.

 

[kjd469]

My sister requires a service dog - while her last service dog was a labrador retriever, her current service dog is a silky terrier - yes, he looks small and cute and often rides on the tray of her wheelchair...some people may assume that he is her "pet". While he is her companion, he also provides a valuable service to her, as she is not able to pick things up, etc. etc. that most people can do and he does that for her. Many people automatically assume that every small, cute dog that doesn't fit the stereotypical "service dog" look is undeserving of being on board the ship - instead they should be thankful that neither they nor a member of their family is in need of one of these dogs.

 

[HappyGilmore]

We also saw that dog in the same spot the last night after the show. The dog looked like a Yorkshire terrier with long hair that was not well groomed. The dog also looked VERY uncomfortable because it was shaking terribly. I felt sorry for it... The seas were a little bumpy at that tikme and it made me wonder if the dog was feeling what a person could feel like (seasick feeling).

 

[TDC Nala]

Pets are not allowed aboard, so this dog had to be some form of service animal (or at least its owner claims it as some form of service animal). Small dogs can also be service animals.

 

[fredgirls]

If a service dog can help the quality of someone's life then that is a wonderful thing and I have no problem with them being aboard. Just curious if Disney assigns certain staterooms for animals.
I have read links from the other thread, and don't want to start another long allergy discussion, but just wondered whether anyone knew if there are specific pet rooms like there are in hotels.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

We had a sheltie and she was not a trained service dog by any means. We did start realizing that she could actually sense when my mother was going to have a seizure. She would bark and bark and block my mother from walking. My mom would sit down and pet her and would then not fall when the seizure hit. Dogs are far smarter than we give them credit for.

 

[jpeka65844]

We had a sheltie and she was not a trained service dog by any means. We did start realizing that she could actually sense when my mother was going to have a seizure. She would bark and bark and block my mother from walking. My mom would sit down and pet her and would then not fall when the seizure hit. Dogs are far smarter than we give them credit for.

I am a music teacher and we have a student who, for a short time, had a black lab "seizure dog". The dog was not the best trained dog in the world, especially by service animal standards bit o well......

So one day, I'm leading the kids in a movement activity and the dog runs up to me and licks my leg, which is his signal that he senses a seizure. When I told his classroom teacher about this she laughed and said "Exactly how bad was your dancing??"

 

[Piper]

My Lucy is a Diabetes Alert dog. She lets me know when my sugar is out of the normal range. She is also very small (about an inch shorter and half the weight of our cat!) She is very well-behaved......never barks at either people or other animals. She is very focused on me. She does bark when someone knocks on our door. She will not get far away from me unless I tell her to "go play" when we are at my apartment's dog park (then she keeps coming back and checking on me.)

She also does some other jobs such as alerting me whenever the coffee pot, microwave, dryer etc. beeps. She touches my leg and then goes to sit in front of whatever beeped. If I don't get right up, she alerts me again! She also picks up things that I drop. Lucy rides in the basket of my ECV when we are out and about.

She does have service dog identification and a vest that she wears whenever she is working (and we are in public.) She doesn't wear it all the time in our apartment, but she actually never goes "off-duty" unless she is sleeping!

 

[finnaddict98]

I have seen these "service animals" too on my 20 cruises, I have no idea how/why they are allowed. There is a "artificial grass" area on the running track that smells just wonderful as I have done my runs on the deck. And you can spare me the "my dog can sence a seizure" thats why we have it. If you are that prone to seizures, being on an isolated cruise ship probably isnt the best palce for you to be....again, flame on...I know its coming.

I just dont know why everyone else must be subjected to the needs of a very few when it impacts the many...OK, granted, maybe it does not impact many on the ship, but it does on planes. Ive seen people have to exit a plane becasue they are allergic to a cat and someone has a brought on board. The person who was allergic had to leave, not the person carrying the cat?!

I know Ill get flamed for this, but why should I have to smell dog poo and pee and hear dog barking (which we have) while on vacation?

 

[Eliza32]

Know what finnaddict...I hope to God you and your family never need the services of such an animal...have a little feeling for those who do please.

 

[Silverfox97]

Hello all! I just returned today from a wonderful trip on the Dream. (Feb. 9-12) I thought I was seeing things so I had my husband look to. There was a large man standing outside of the Walt Disney Theatre holding a small terrier in his arms. He was complaining about a problem he was having in the theatre to one of the employees.

And I just wanted to say that the Dream was wonderful! I've seen some negative reports on here but we had a totally positive experience and booked the Fantasy for 2013 while on board!

Saw the same dog (was on your cruise) and also had a great time!

We also saw that dog in the same spot the last night after the show. The dog looked like a Yorkshire terrier with long hair that was not well groomed. The dog also looked VERY uncomfortable because it was shaking terribly. I felt sorry for it... The seas were a little bumpy at that tikme and it made me wonder if the dog was feeling what a person could feel like (seasick feeling).

We saw the dog while going upstairs from Deck 3 to 4. DH & I did a double take!!

 

[kcashner]

Why not use this as a teaching situation for your child? They need to know about service animals--this is a good time to remind them that this is a working dog and we cannot pet/approach the animal without talking to the owner first. They can politely ask the owner whether they can pet the dog--the answer WILL vary based on the person and the dog. Some are horrified--NO, he is on duty. Others are very friendly and will talk with you about what the dog does, praise the child for asking, etc.

We have to assume that the dog is a legit service animal--that's what DCL has to do also. I've been on cruises where there were people with an animal--DCL cleans up as thoroughly after that dog as they do after the guests--spotlessly. I've never noticed any smells in public areas. I don't know whether they restrict service animals to particular cabins, but they do have a procedure called an "allergy clean." If you or a family member has allergy issues, you should probably be asking for this before you enter the cabin regardless of whether there might have been an animal there.