Originally posted by afff
Lynda and Cash
My kids love animals........if you need to excerise Cash with a little walk around the ship my DD will be more then happy.
I'll supervise them of course.
Hi.. I really appreciate the offer... from all the kids.....But...
He won't go...It's the security training.. He will only obey my commands and will not go off with anyone else...In a roundabout way, this is why he has a verandah.....
DCL policy states service dogs either potty in the stateroom or go for a walk to a backstage area with a CM. No way!
I put it to them this way:
#1....EEEUWWWW, not in MY stateroom! He's house trained, for pete's sake and would never, unless he was sick, do his business indoors..or off command.
#2.... A CM?... I would be more likely to hand over my sportscar to a beginning driver... and he's insured for about the same amount of money... So, stalemate...
This is long and boring but useful if your DD is interested in what Service Dogs are like...
They are not like pet dogs, all wiggly and friendly. They are very serious and reserved. They have gone through a lot of training so that they are absolutely dependable. For example, Cash has specific commands for each direction and walks a certain way and a certain speed so that he can support me. I did once let a friend's son see what it was like to walk with a "living cane" in a restaurant and it was a disaster. Last time I took him to the vet, Cash acted as though he didn't know how to walk on a leash. He gets directions through the handle on his harness and I guess he's come to depend on it when walking with someone.... After 3+ years together we are practically a unit. When off-duty and undressed he plays catch and fetches like a pro and I think he would have a great time playing with the kids when I take him "off duty". I know that all the kids on the cruise (not just the dds and ds in the families here) who have pets will get homesick for them...who wouldn't? but Cash is a poor substitute. He's a robot on duty and I'll need him to be on duty when we're out and about.... He'll be off-duty in the stateroom...He takes his job of keeping me on my feet very seriously so he needs some time off...(not to deny the fact that his "sense of humor" occasionally compels him to mash me into a pillar or door sill if I'm not paying attention, the little devil. Then he gets this AWWW, Ma, I didn't mean to do that look.)
But we did come to a resolution, thanks to the assistance of others. So, he is now Cash, the Verandah Dog, with a sod-filled litter box on his verandah. I told DCL that I would tend it and they came up with a verandah upgrade....Whew!
did you all wear you fingers out last night on chat? 
