Dog at resort. Did I do the right thing?

[VSL]

I adore dogs, but you definitely did the right thing - for many reasons!

Some people have allergies (as has been mentioned) and, if they had permission to have the dog with them they wouldn't have been moved and there wouldn't have been any problem (maybe they did have permission and were just leaving that day, but you still did the right thing!).

Rules are rules.

 

[disneyholic family]

the only dogs permitted are service and leader dogs, and these dogs are clearly marked...so if that dog wasn't marked, he wasn't allowed to be there...

by the way, universal's resorts do permit dogs...
i was really surprised by this, since i'm used to the WDW resorts...
but then when we were staying at the portofino we saw a good example of why you wouln't want dogs in your hotel...
one day, just in front of the concierge lounge (where we were headed to get a snack) there was a huge group of firemen (in full battle dress with all of the fireman accessories in tow)....as we passed by, we realized that at the front of this huge group of firemen (dressed to fight a major fire), were a couple of paramedics, with a boy on a stretcher....they were attending to his face...it was difficult to see his face, but it was clear something very serious had happened....
then i noticed the dog....a very large dog.....

we didn't want to stare, so we continued into the lounge...
inside we asked about it and the staff said that the little 10 year old boy had been attacked by his own family's dog....the dog had bitten the boy on his face....
after some treatment on the spot, the boy was taken to the hospital for repair work...

a few days later we saw him being pushed around in a wheelchair by his father.....the part of his face that was visible was completely swollen and black and blue and looked reallly awful.....i can only imagine what the bandaged part looked like...he had had to have plastic surgery to repair the damage done by the dog's attack....and that was the boy's own dog...
imagine what that dog might have done to a stranger???.

so that's the problem....you never ever ever know what a dog will do....all dogs bite given the circumstances.....

 

[tessqt]

You did the right thing!!!! I love our dog, but I also made kennel reservations for her in June for our trip in 29 days!

 

[DisneyFans4]

As I indicated earlier I too have a dog and cat who I would love to bring with me to Disney. We buy so much for them when we are there and I think about them the entire trip but Disney is not the place for them. Disney has a kennel but I don't like it. They are caged and are only walked if you go there to do it. My animals are much better cared for at my local pet resort where they are outside and are only put in their crates at night to sleep.

 

[noseybuddy]

You did the right thing. Rules are made for a reason, and it really annoys me when people just think they can ignore them. Good for you for turning them in. There are hotels out there that are pet friendly such as hotels at Universal. They could have found somewhere else to stay.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I think you did the right thing. I love my dogs, too, but I know they would be much happier at home with a dog sitter, than stuck in a hotel room. And of course, other guests are wanting to get rest, or a room w/o animal dander, etc.

The last time we were at PC, there was someone walking around the pool area with a love bird in a cage. I was admiring it, and asked about it, they said it was sick and needed to be with them. I didn't turn them in, now I am thinking I should have. People have allergies to birds, too. I didn't think about that at the time...

The most obvious reason to me for "no pets allowed" is that I do not want to walk around the resort and have to worry about stepping in doggy do do. I have to worry about that everywhere else in the world, but not WDW!

Why can't people just follow the rules, or go somewhere else?!

 

[DisneyFans4]

I guess if the person could walk around the resort with the bird then they must have had permission. I guess they figure birds can't do much harm but your right, there are people who are allergic.


Maybe what they should do is have special rooms, maybe just a couple, for guests like that have an animal but have permission to bring them.

 

[ainmama2001]

I am a dog lover myself, but I don't think you did anything wrong. I know what it is to live with allergies, and it would be terrible for some little one to get sick because someone did not follow policy. Also what if the dog bit the housekeeper or worse yet ran out and got hurt.

But, I know that during hurricane Wilma they evacuated Ft. Wilderness and put them up in empty rooms, I wonder if it was one of the families they evacuated. aw:

I'm a dog lover too. It seems awfully cruel to the dog to leave it all locked up in a strange place all alone! At least in the kennel it would have people looking after it and taking it outside!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...The last time we were at PC, there was someone walking around the pool area with a love bird in a cage. I was admiring it, and asked about it, they said it was sick and needed to be with them. I didn't turn them in, now I am thinking I should have. People have allergies to birds, too. I didn't think about that at the time...

Anyone hear of Avian Flu????? Right now they don't think it can be passed to humans from birds, but they aren't really sure. Birds don't belong there either. WDW is for humans.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

Given the info we are hearing from people about allergies - you did the right thing.

We were at Poly during Frances -and saw someone in a neighboring bldg with a dog on the balcony - but these were extenuating circumstances and I kinda just assumed maybe they were putting up CMs (or it was aCm doing rideout) and they needed to bring the dog. It could have also been someone local - it seemed they put up a few locals with medical needs. Given the discussion here - next time I would probably politely notify the front desk about it.

 

[misslissa]

Have you met any of those people that are so allergic to dogs that they could die even being in the same room as a dog 2 weeks after it has been there? I have!!! You definitely did the right thing! I thank you for that. I am a (very pampered) dog owner. And, I would never think of doing something like that. The whole kennel idea doesn't sit well with me either 'cause she is such a baby (had a hard time overnight at the vet) so I leave her with her grandma.

Anyway, my point being... the odds are not really there, but you could have saved someone's life! That is definitely the right thing to do.

 

[SueM in MN]

I can see your point, too. What if there was some extreme reason why the dog had to go? Maybe they had permission? Sometimes situations are not always black and white (or good/ bad....though it'd make life easier if it were). Things aren't always as they appear.

If they did have permission, no harm would be done by reporting them.
When the report came in, the CMs at the front desk would have a note of it and not go to the room at all. Or, someone would go to the room, the people in the room would explain they had permission and have some proof that they did.

Just because you saw the dog leave the room doesn't mean he was staying there. Someone could have visited or some other situation. It was none of your business and unless you heard him barking or something I think you should have left it alone. For the record we have a dog but do not take him to hotels.

Again, no harm would be done by reporting.
If the dog was "just visiting" the people who were staying in the room could inform the CM of that. They would probably be advised to have their visiting friends leave their dog(s) some where it was allowed. So, if they didn't know the rule, they would find out.
It's not allowed for a number of reasons, so I don't think waiting until the dog makes a nuisance of itself is a fair thing to do.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

If they did have permission, no harm would be done by reporting them.
When the report came in, the CMs at the front desk would have a note of it and not go to the room at all. Or, someone would go to the room, the people in the room would explain they had permission and have some proof that they did.
.

I had no problem with the OP reporting it...I was just responding to open up lines of thought, considering things are not always as they appear, and this was based on speculation.

 

[LisaRay]

I am yet another person who has a son with dog and cat allergies! My son is 6 years old and we just went through a ton of testing this week it has been a very rough week. And he is allergic to every animal except a cow!! So if we were in that room after a pet it would also cause big problems for our little guy!

And as we all know when you are at disney you are hardly in the room so that means the pet is left unattended for a long period of time!

 

[kimmbagley]

You did the right thing. I would love to take our dogs with to disney, they don't even have to be in the room with us..just a nice kennel area. This is really a downfall for disney..they could make some great money if they would open pet spas. So many people travel with their pets because they don't have someone proper to take care of them at home. We have tried dozens of kennels/pet spas and I am sorry to say, 95% of them we never return to.

Nobody cares for you pet like you do.

Okay, not going to read all of the pages, but... Disney has 4 kennels. Does anyone know this?

 

[Meezers]

I love all our animals (my 2 cats, DB dog, DM cat) but rules apply equally and fairly to everyone. You did the right thing.

PS...for all you people with service dogs...chances are I will ask you about your animal and ask if I can have a "doggy fix" cause I miss our animals so much on vacation....

 

[Belle5]

You did the right thing and I have done the same. In no way did I second guess myself. The family was smuggling a dog into the hotel wrapped in a pink baby blanket. We hand picked our hotel that we had to live in for 2 months this year looking for one (and paying for one) that did not allow pets. From getting to know other long term boarders at our hotel I knew we were not the only ones who based our choice on that criteria.

My in laws are cut from this same selfish breed of people. The rules don't apply to them because they are "special". They were not above sneaking their dogs into hotels--even though they knew first hand that their own son and grandchildren had severe asthma.

 

[Jen Jen]

I am a mommy to two dogs whom I adore. I would never take them to a place that didn't accept pets, nor would I ever leave them locked up in a hotel room all day long. That being said, unless the dog was actually disturbing you in some way, the only reason you had for calling and tattle-taling on these people was that you are a busy body. You're like the neighbors who have nothing better to do than to watch out the window to see what other people are doing all day, then calling everyone else you know to gossip about it. Then you come on these boards and bring it up to everyone because your conscience is bothering you, and you want everyone to tell you what a wonderful person you are and that you really had no choice. If you saw someone stealing, or beating someone up or something, then you would have had a good reason to get involved. Otherwise, you're just taking pleasure out of causing trouble for other people. I'm sure this will make me unpopular, but that's how I feel.

 

[Jen Jen]

I have severe chronic asthma and allergies myself, have had since I was 2.

 

[Cinderella]

Yes you did the right thing. Disney does have kennels for people with dogs.

My son is allergic to dogs. If I had stayed in that room, after those people he would have been so ill that we may have had to take him to hospital.