special needs dog?

[halld6479]

my dad has a dog that has a tag covering special needs he carries on planes, hotels restruants, will DIsney honor the need to have the dog with him in his room and or park?

 

[livndisney]

my dad has a dog that has a tag covering special needs he carries on planes, hotels restruants, will DIsney honor the need to have the dog with him in his room and or park?

If your father is disabled and the dog is a trained service animal, then yes. There is not a "tag" for a Service animal.

 

[SueM in MN]

my dad has a dog that has a tag covering special needs he carries on planes, hotels restruants, will DIsney honor the need to have the dog with him in his room and or park?

I am not certain what you mean by this.

Service Dogs are individually trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability. The dog must actually do something it was trained to do that assists with the disability.
Service dogs are looked at under the law the same as a wheelchair - the dog is an adaptive device that provides assistance with a disability. Use of Service Dogs is covered under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Emotional Support animals do not come under the ADA.

There is more information about Service Dogs in post 3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. THat thread is near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature.

Ait travel falls under different guidelines and Emotional Support Dogs are allowed on planes, with proper documentation, including documentation of a psychiatric diagnosis and doctor’s documentation of need.

 

[Mrsjvb]

what exactly does the dog do> seeing eye dog? hearing? monitors blood sugar? alerts when a seizure is imminent? fetch/carry or performs simple tasks like opening doors?

all of these qualify the animal as a service dog and is covered. an Emotional support dog.. is NOT.

 

[Plaid Princess]

what exactly does the dog do> seeing eye dog? hearing? monitors blood sugar? alerts when a seizure is imminent? fetch/carry or performs simple tasks like opening doors?

all of these qualify the animal as a service dog and is covered. an Emotional support dog.. is NOT.

This is for the safety of the dog as well as the guests. Service animals are trained to handle all kinds of unusual situations, and as such can handle the loud and sometimes extreme environment that is WDW. (WDW horses are often bought by the NYPD when they are retired from Disney because they are considered "bomb proof" after hearing fireworks bang and having people poke them from all directions in the parks.)

Emotional support dogs often do not have this kind of specialized training, which puts the pet and the owner in a very bad place if the dog panics in a crowd (or when fireworks go off, parade music cranks up etc).

Not to mention Service Animal break areas are often few and far between, not an ideal situation for a pooch that's used to a pet door to the outside anytime he wants.