Service Dogs

[jesse8931]

I can't believe some people would have an issue with a service dog.

They are there to improve someone's life.

 

[wilkeliza]

99% of service dogs will go unnoticed. I've only personally experienced one "bad" service dog and it wasn't really bad it was just the handler had 0 control over the dog and looking back the person who needed the dog was not who was handling them but rather one of their family members. I guess they were trying to self train their lab to be a service dog and just couldn't see that the dog was not going to work. Poor woman was being drug around by this lab while it chased squirrels and birds at DHS. Thankfully it was a low crowd day and it was only them and us on the path where it was happening.

 

[SparklePixie]

I can't believe some people would have an issue with a service dog.

They are there to improve someone's life.

People don't have an issue with legitimate service dogs.

 

[Tondee]

The dog I saw last week had a red vest on that said it was a seizure dog.

 

[OKW Lover]

Happy to see more people with service dogs in the parks. It shows that Disney provides a welcoming atmosphere for those who need service dogs in their lives. Hope the dogs enjoy Disney as much as their masters.

 

[missnic]

We noticed a ton of service dogs at Epcot last Tuesday. I'm assuming they were training, because there were about 6 together, plus 2 or 3 puppies in a stroller. And they all had booties on. I never thought of training a service animal at Disney, but it does make a lot of sense.
We also saw two at MNSSHP on Thursday. They were both dressed up, and handled the fireworks extremely well. Impressive!

 

[DekrRini]

This didn't happen at WDW, but on my last flight to WDW the woman in the seat in front of me had a small service dog with her. I was surprised to see one on a plane. The dog was very well behaved and didn't make a sound the entire flight.

I heard or read someplace that one of the functions of the vest a service dog wears is to inform people around them that the dog is working and so should not be approached as one might approach a pet. I don't know if this is true or not, but it did make sense to me.

 

[GotLabradors]

Breed, appearance or size of dog is irrelevant. As long as the dog is trained to perform a task to assist a disabled person, it gets access. It can be any task. I remember a service dog that was trained to carry a bottle of water and make sure that its handler drank water.

ADA applies only to two types of animal - dogs, and in certain circumstances miniature horses. It doesn't apply to any other animals. Even if someone has a service cat or a service monkey, a business isn't required to admit that animal by law.

Funny you mention the monkey. While having my bag checked at MK this week, the security woman was telling a story about searching a backpack only to find it had a monkey in it. The owner then claimed it was a service monkey. Security told her the monkey could not come in the park.

 

[KiniShakenBake]

For what it's worth, there's a HUGE Canine Companions for Independence training facility in Orlando, sponsored by Sea World and Busch Gardens. The dogs finish their training and are teamed with their new owner at that facility. It's not uncommon at all for the trainers to use the theme parks and resorts for practice around huge and unpredictable crowds of people from all sorts of backgrounds who may or may not know how to behave around a service dog, as well as a wide variety of terrains and situations. They regularly take the dogs to the all of the parks to work on skills and focus in crowds, and Disney seems to be happy to have them.

Of note: The poster who said that the person has the access, and the dog is the "assistance device" is correct. Dogs don't really have access to go anywhere.