Pets on the ships

[Tonka's Skipper]

Just want to point out that the latest ADA rules state that a service animal can only be dogs..............therapy and assitance animals can be anything.

The rights that owners of therapy animals have is much more restrictive then service dogs.

It's a shame that some people are so self centered that they think the rules don't apply to them and they will do a end run to get there *dear*pets on planes and ships. The people that really need the help are the ones who suffer.

PS It is my understanding that a cleaning after a service dog has stayed in the cabin is much more then a normal cleaning. However I agree with the past poster..people have more germs then dogs!

Have a great cruise!

AKK

 

[Bethshaya]

Really? This really seemed like a pet. An 8-10 pound terrier in a sweater? And the lady walking the dog was not disabled. Maybe someone else in her party was. But I really don't see how a little terrier could be considered a service animal.

Dont forget that service dogs aren't just for blind, deaf or physically disabled, people. There are also service dogs that can sense seizures as well. These can be any breed.

You wouldn't know from looking at her if the woman had a severe case of epilepsy.

However, as far as the sweater, if the service dog is on duty, they should have the vest on to let people know it is a service dog and not to approach while on duty without the owners permission.

if you have kids and ever come across someone with a service dog, please use it as a learning moment to teach your children not to approach the dog to pet it or distract it.

 

[fredgirls]

So I lived there, I all have to do to get my Saint Bernard certified so I can bring him on my next DCL trip is find a friend who is wiling to play the role of "therapist"


So..do you really have a saint bernard?
We have laughed a lot about how much ours would enjoy a cruise! And how much others would enjoy her slobbery head on the dinner table!
(before anyone tells me how disgusting that is, it isn't usually allowed!)

 

[1 Minnie & 3 Mickeys]

I love animals...and love the assistance that they give to people that truly need it. I would like to know that either specific cabins are used or they are really thoroughly cleaned. I am not a germophobe but do have asthma that is triggered by pet hair etc. I cannot even walk into a house that has cats and certain types of dogs without my lungs closing up. Forget about sleeping in a bed that had a pet in it. Would hate to spend my vacation that way.

I would be the first to bet that Disney has this all under control. Given the amount of little ones that travel on the ship and are likely crawling around I am sure they clean pretty thoroughly.

 

[TinkBell10]

I have no problem with service animals. However, I do have a question regarding them on a cruise ship. With such a closed environment, and nowhere to walk them....where/how do they relieve themselves?

 

[paraflier]

We must have been on the same cruise because I'm sure I saw the same lady. It was just a few fleeting glances of her, usually through the doors on deck 4 while she was heading up the stairs with the dog. I'm sure it was a therapy or service dog of some sort.

 

[sabrecmc]

Wouldn't the concern about a service animal being in the room you eventually stay in apply to any hotel for that matter? I think DCL keeps the rooms pretty sanitized, but if you truly have a severe allergy, then wouldn't you need to check with every hotel you stay at to make sure that no service animal had been in that particular room or with every airline to make sure the animal hadn't been on your plane, etc.? Or if you have a peanut allergy that no one ate peanuts in there? Maybe people with severe allergies already do that, and I just don't realize it.

I've seen lots of dogs, both large and small, at WDW. Saw a monkey once, too. It had a vest on said it was a service animal, but got loads of attention anyway.

 

[spacecanada]

I have no problem with service animals. However, I do have a question regarding them on a cruise ship. With such a closed environment, and nowhere to walk them....where/how do they relieve themselves?

It depends. Some use pee pads in their staterooms. Some put a patch of grass sod in an inflatable pool on their verandahs. Others have a patch of grass sod in a container on the deck 7 or 8 aft public verandah.

On the Wonder last week we saw a service dog and a sizeable container of grass sod on the deck 7 verandah.

As for cleaning, DCL has an 'allergy' clean they perform after the animals have been in the room. It's a very thorough clean from what our stateroom attendant told me.

 

[design_mom]

I have no problem with service animals. However, I do have a question regarding them on a cruise ship. With such a closed environment, and nowhere to walk them....where/how do they relieve themselves?

I read on another thread that DCL provides a simulated grass "potty tray" for them to use in the cabin (or on the verandah). Something like this: http://www.rockstar-puppy.com/wiggle-wag-potty.html I think a special "grassy" area in an otherwise unused area was also mentioned.

 

[sayhello]

Reading this reminded me of when I was in Chicago last month. I was in the HUGE Nordstrom's they have there, in the shoe department, when in walks this woman in monster high-heels, and a HUMONGOUS dog! Just walking around, looking at shoes, etc.

None of the salespeople even blinked. I went up and asked one, and they say it is perfectly normal; people walk into that store with their pets all the time. I'd never seen such a thing! It sure was strange to me!

Sayhello

 

[iloverags2]

Reading this reminded me of when I was in Chicago last month. I was in the HUGE Nordstrom's they have there, in the shoe department, when in walks this woman in monster high-heels, and a HUMONGOUS dog! Just walking around, looking at shoes, etc.

None of the salespeople even blinked. I went up and asked one, and they say it is perfectly normal; people walk into that store with their pets all the time. I'd never seen such a thing! It sure was strange to me!

Sayhello

Let me guess...Oak Brook, right?

 

[kcashner]

DCL has 2 special cleanings--one is called a deep clean and one is called an allergy cleaning. I don't know the difference. I know only because we had a funky smell in our room one evening. A white uniform was dispatched to the room--they couldn't figure it out but agreed with us that it wasn't from the bathroom. They sprayed some stuff and put an air purifier in the room that night, and told me they would order a "deep cleaning" in the morning.

The next day our stateroom host stopped me to ask whether it was supposed to be a deep clean or an allergy clean.

For a person with allergies to pet dander, I'd suggest that you make DCL aware of your situation and request an allergy clean of your stateroom before entering--whether there was a dog in there or not. You never know what someone had/used in the room that you might react to.

 

[DundasDad]

Hmmm ... I wonder if there are restrictions as to the type of service animal as well?

Seeing that picture of the lady with her service horse made me think.

I'd love to bring my service hippo "Henry" onboard next time I sail.

 

[3Mickeys]

As the mother of a child who is terrified of animals this does concern me if people can get pets certified if they aren't "working" animals. My child would be able to deal with a service animal as they are always well behaved, trained and working. Please, bring them on the ship if you have the need.

However I have had it with the people who say I am doing my child a disservice by not letting their animal jump on, smell and lick my child. "Once the animal smells your child it will then leave your child alone." Really? I should traumatize my child and make him face his greatest fear because you can't control your animal or understand that not everyone likes it?? Most animal owners are understanding, but a minority group needs a slap into reality. I hope there can be more checks and balances with certifying animals so that these questions don't keep coming up.

 

[sayhello]

Let me guess...Oak Brook, right?

No, actually it was the one on Michigan Avenue, downtown!

Sayhello

 

[kcashner]

As the mother of a child who is terrified of animals this does concern me if people can get pets certified if they aren't "working" animals. My child would be able to deal with a service animal as they are always well behaved, trained and working. Please, bring them on the ship if you have the need.

However I have had it with the people who say I am doing my child a disservice by not letting their animal jump on, smell and lick my child. "Once the animal smells your child it will then leave your child alone." Really? I should traumatize my child and make him face his greatest fear because you can't control your animal or understand that not everyone likes it?? Most animal owners are understanding, but a minority group needs a slap into reality. I hope there can be more checks and balances with certifying animals so that these questions don't keep coming up.

The point of the Orlando Sentinel article was (in part) that people can pay a small amount of money thru an on line "agency" and have their pet "certified." I have NO problem with service dogs, regardless of the service they render. My problem is with people who have a paper to "prove" that their pet is some sort of therapy or assistance animal so they can take Fluffy on vacation at the expense of the airlines and tour operators!

 

[skylynx]

3Mickeys...you of course should never have to subject your child to the fear of being approached by an overly-friendly dog. As someone with friends who volunteer the services of their search and rescue dogs, though, I think it's not a bad idea to mitigate your child's fear in the (hopefully unlikely) event he or she ever got lost and needed to be found by a dog. Maybe some safe exposure to a quiet, well-trained dog? Uncontrolled fears can prove way more dangerous than what you are afraid of...the same sort of thing applies to a fear of firemen in full smoke protection gear...they look terrifying! When my kids were in elementary school, the firemen came to the school wearing their fire and smoke protection gear (the gas mask was the worst) to show the kids what they looked like so they wouldn't be afraid. Too many kids hide in closets or under their beds during a fire or other emergency, and certainly aren't going to reveal their whereabouts to someone who looks and sounds like Darth Vader!

We were on a cruise a year or two ago where one blind woman and one trainer brought two golden retriever service animals on board. One was being trained to guide a person on a ship, and the other was assisting the blind woman. They had a kiddie pool filled with sod on their verandah for the dogs. I thought it was wonderful those dogs could allow people who are blind to move freely and independently around the ship.

We didn't see photos of those dogs on our cruise, but I saw posted somewhere on Disboards photos taken by DCL's professional staff of some service animals with the characters on another cruise. In one photo, the dog was lying on Cinderalla's lap, and in the other photo, the dog was sitting next to Pluto, who was also "sitting" in a dog pose. Great pictures.

 

[cccdisney]

Although not on DCL, here is a picture of my son's Service Dog meeting Pluto at DCA last month. Doesn't it look like Pluto is wearing Mickey ears?

And here's one riding the Disneyland railroad

 

[gomagic]

This time last week, I was on the Magic...

Anyway, most mornings I went up to Deck 9, got a cup (or two) of coffee and then went back down to Deck 4 to drink it and read. Well, every morning there was a lady that would use the track to walk her dog. I was shocked that DCL allows pets on board. And this wasn't a service dog. Just a little terrier of some sort.

Have they always allowed this? And do they only allow pets in certain cabins?

We must have been on the same cruise because I'm sure I saw the same lady. It was just a few fleeting glances of her, usually through the doors on deck 4 while she was heading up the stairs with the dog. I'm sure it was a therapy or service dog of some sort.

I was on the same cruise and saw the dog once. I really didn't think much of it since I figured it was some sort of service or therapy dog too.

I have no problem with service animals. However, I do have a question regarding them on a cruise ship. With such a closed environment, and nowhere to walk them....where/how do they relieve themselves?

On the cruise the OP is talking about, there was a small kiddie pool (or maybe a sand box of some sort) on deck 4 with a small patch of grass in it. We have seen similiar setups on other cruises too.

 

[ArielRae]

Here is a video of a service dog on a Disney cruise.
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U67dM_3kePo&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Part 2 - more dog related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4jQHph4hOs&feature=youtube_gdata_player