Vent...Service Dogs Really???

[roxydotty]

I also know two people who got a doctor to sign paperwork that allows them to take their small dogs on airplanes and in restaurants, etc. They have never taken them to Disneyland, but they carry a little card around and their ready to whip it out when they are challenged.

Both of them are a little anxious and feel comforted when their dog is with them.

My opinion...it's gotten a bit out of control. Neither dog has received any kind of training.

 

[Malcon10t]

Just because a place is pet free doesn't mean it is anymore! I have heard people admit that they lie about there dog being a service dog so that they can bring it where they like.

If your daughter is that highly allergic, I would. Service dogs are not pets. My daughter's dog is always with her, although she often leaves her home when she is at work. (She is a teacher, most alarms are loud enough for her to hear. And most know about her hearing impairment.)

Her dog is a Golden/Lab cross. Most of the dogs we train are black labs, with a few yellow thrown in for fun.

Here is my daughter's hearing dog (appropriately named Belle) at the club

She slept through Candlelight

Meeting Pluto

And Mickey (who didn't want to leave her!)

 

[Disney Dreams]

I absolutely love the picture with Pluto!

Thanks for sharing,
Dreams

 

[BelleMaria]

If your daughter is that highly allergic, I would. Service dogs are not pets. My daughter's dog is always with her, although she often leaves her home when she is at work. (She is a teacher, most alarms are loud enough for her to hear. And most know about her hearing impairment.)

Her dog is a Golden/Lab cross. Most of the dogs we train are black labs, with a few yellow thrown in for fun.

Here is my daughter's hearing dog (appropriately named Belle) at the club

She slept through Candlelight

Meeting Pluto

And Mickey (who didn't want to leave her!)

Your daughters dog is beautiful!!

 

[californiamomof4grls]

I shouldn't of said pets! There is a real difference between the two! Sorry about that! I know this thread was about something else but for me it brought to light that there probably are a lot of service animal at the parks. If Maddi doesn't go into alpha lactic shock she will at least have an asthma attack! That means I should have more then just her epi pen on me in the parks! We have a dog of our own now and we are hoping to make her environment not quite so sterile in hops of lessening her allergies! My daughter has the dream of becoming a vet and we are hoping to join 4H this year! Love the pics of your service dogs! My niece has a therapy dog to help with her autism he is her life saver!!

 

[Malcon10t]

We found my daughter had fewer asthma attacks when her dogs are with her. Hers are mainly stress related though.

In this pic, we have one of our pups on their first trip into the park. Only thing we did was look in a store, watch the horse walk by, and visit Cruella....

 

[pixiewings71]

If your daughter is that highly allergic, I would. Service dogs are not pets. My daughter's dog is always with her, although she often leaves her home when she is at work. (She is a teacher, most alarms are loud enough for her to hear. And most know about her hearing impairment.)

Her dog is a Golden/Lab cross. Most of the dogs we train are black labs, with a few yellow thrown in for fun.

Here is my daughter's hearing dog (appropriately named Belle) at the club

She slept through Candlelight

Meeting Pluto

And Mickey (who didn't want to leave her!)

What a cute dog!! I love the photo with Pluto.

I shouldn't of said pets! There is a real difference between the two! Sorry about that! I know this thread was about something else but for me it brought to light that there probably are a lot of service animal at the parks. If Maddi doesn't go into alpha lactic shock she will at least have an asthma attack! That means I should have more then just her epi pen on me in the parks! We have a dog of our own now and we are hoping to make her environment not quite so sterile in hops of lessening her allergies! My daughter has the dream of becoming a vet and we are hoping to join 4H this year! Love the pics of your service dogs! My niece has a therapy dog to help with her autism he is her life saver!!

Alpha lactic shock? LOL Auto Correct fail. LOL I hope your DD is able to live her dream of being a vet.

We found my daughter had fewer asthma attacks when her dogs are with her. Hers are mainly stress related though.

In this pic, we have one of our pups on their first trip into the park. Only thing we did was look in a store, watch the horse walk by, and visit Cruella....

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

 

[bumbershoot]

Are people required to carry paperwork that shows the dog is certified as a service animal?

No.

I have a friend who breeds and shows dogs. She is also a diabetic. Twice in a row one of her dogs really began to paw at her, poke her with his nose, and would not stop. In both of those cases her blood sugar level had changed drastically. She began to use him as a service dog and he has been remarkably accurate. I should, however, point out that he had already passed his Canine Good Citizen, was a certified therapy dog, and the two of them would visit hospitals and nursing homes so he was already very well trained. She has several dogs she that are also certified therapy dogs but this is the only one who seems to have the ability to detect when her blood sugar is off.

I wonder if sometimes some dogs are found to be able to alert to a condition but no one has bothered, or even knew how, to get them trained to behave properly? Maybe a minimum of a Canine Good Citizen certificate should be required of all service and alert dogs. Although that's probably a discussion for another board.

I bet that is exactly the situation with many animals who are service dogs for conditions OTHER than helping those with sight or hearing disabilities, etc.

I found out a lot about the ADA when I had a liar living downstairs from me, and ultimately we simply moved because it was going to take too long to prove her lies. (hard to be a seizure detecting dog when you are NEVER with the one with the seizures, just to start) (and she freely admitted that she had worked in apartment rental industries before and knew what the rules were...she just wanted her otherwise outlawed-in-the-complex breed with her) We had to write down and report every single incident we had with the dog (then later, dogS, when management was only informed of one), but it was so scary that I just started staying inside. The service dog is looked upon as a legal member of the family, so no extra deposit or cleaning fee, etc etc, and just like with a human tenant, you have to have a paper trail to evict one.

I believe 100% that there are dogs that detect all sorts of amazing and useful things. And I bet there are a lot of those dogs who aren't the best behaved out there, but are still service dogs.

Wow this is really crazy to me. My daughter is highly allergic to some breeds of dogs. Mostly long haired dogs like the big Australian Shepard's. She has an epi pen. I guess I am going to have to ask if there has been a service dog in the hotels we are staying at and any booth like places in Disneyland! I never thought about it. Just because a place is pet free doesn't mean it is anymore! I have heard people admit that they lie about there dog being a service dog so that they can bring it where they like.

How neat that she's apparently been OK, even though you haven't been asking about service animals.

 

[DharmaLou]

I won't get into too much other than to say I LOVE the photos Love the one with Pluto & Belle covering her face

 

[KPeveler]

Wow this is really crazy to me. My daughter is highly allergic to some breeds of dogs. Mostly long haired dogs like the big Australian Shepard's. She has an epi pen. I guess I am going to have to ask if there has been a service dog in the hotels we are staying at and any booth like places in Disneyland! I never thought about it. Just because a place is pet free doesn't mean it is anymore! I have heard people admit that they lie about there dog being a service dog so that they can bring it where they like.

Service dogs have been allowed in hotels for decades now, so chances are she's been in a room that had one. But you can always check and ask for a special cleaning if needed.

 

[afnaechiquita]

Nope, under ADA you can only ask:

(1) Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
(2) What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

You can't ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task, and you can't ask for any special identification or training documentation. While most service dogs do wear identifying vests, that's actually not required either.


We've always taught our kids that when service dogs are out in public they're working so they're not to be distracted in any way.

Then at DL recently we witnessed a couple letting anyone passing by pet and play with their dog. Everyone, the dog included, looked to be having a great time. But I had a tough time explaining that one and have to admit I was wondering what work or task the dog was supposed to be performing. I also wonder how many of those kids will go up to other service dogs in the future wanting to pet and play with them.

You're absolutely correct in teaching your children that service dogs in public are working and should be left alone; however, if that dog's handler invites you to "play" with the dog, that's not wrong of them. Dogs are incredibly smart and they do differentiate between "work" and "play," but it's also dependent on the handler to keep them in line AND let you know upon approaching if you can pet/play or if the dog is currently in work-mode. The couple you witnessed could have been doing it correctly, or they could have not been. To me, DL seems like a perfect place to train a dog as it opens them to a wide variety of tastes, smells, and sounds.

My best friend founded an organization that trains service dogs for a variety of uses (everything from physical disabilities to emotional disabilities ((big successes with persons with PTSD)) to mental disabilities and onwards..), and so throughout college we always had at least two dogs in our apartment, and often more who were taken out of their training program for a night or two at the vet or something. I like to say I trained them all just for those situations mentioned above and I have witnessed them go from play to work and vice versa with a simple command. It's really quite amazing.

I think it's really a situation akin to (dare I say it) GAC abuse. You can't ask if the person needs it. You can't demand them to show proof of disability/service dog certification. But the benefits to those who truly do have a NEED far exceed the issues with abusers. Those who cheat the system will get theirs in time - maybe their untrained dog will do something incredibly embarrassing that they'll never risk it again.

 

[KPeveler]

You're absolutely correct in teaching your children that service dogs in public are working and should be left alone; however, if that dog's handler invites you to "play" with the dog, that's not wrong of them. Dogs are incredibly smart and they do differentiate between "work" and "play," but it's also dependent on the handler to keep them in line AND let you know upon approaching if you can pet/play or if the dog is currently in work-mode. The couple you witnessed could have been doing it correctly, or they could have not been. To me, DL seems like a perfect place to train a dog as it opens them to a wide variety of tastes, smells, and sounds.

My best friend founded an organization that trains service dogs for a variety of uses (everything from physical disabilities to emotional disabilities ((big successes with persons with PTSD)) to mental disabilities and onwards..), and so throughout college we always had at least two dogs in our apartment, and often more who were taken out of their training program for a night or two at the vet or something. I like to say I trained them all just for those situations mentioned above and I have witnessed them go from play to work and vice versa with a simple command. It's really quite amazing.

I think it's really a situation akin to (dare I say it) GAC abuse. You can't ask if the person needs it. You can't demand them to show proof of disability/service dog certification. But the benefits to those who truly do have a NEED far exceed the issues with abusers. Those who cheat the system will get theirs in time - maybe their untrained dog will do something incredibly embarrassing that they'll never risk it again.

I agree on pretty much everything, especially the last part. I am very impressed by your friend , and on behalf of myself as a future-service-dog-owner (probably) I thank you for all the time you have spent helping others by helping train the dogs.

 

[hakepb]

Service dogs are for all kinds of reasons- anxiety, seizures, etc.

it's terrible to make assumptions without knowing.

Which means if a service dog is barking, you need to notify a Cm so that guest can be rushed to a hospital.

 

[surfer_ed]

The problem for me is the fake (poorly behaved, poorly groomed, barking, etc) cause issues for the real service dogs. We just turned in our 8th service dog in training. Its a LOT of work. A service dog should be unseen and unheard. My favorite comments are usually as we depart a restaurant "I didn't know there was a dog in here!" I actually video taped a service dog in Disneyland, as it walked in front of me, eating popcorn off the ground, putting its head in other peoples bags, sniffing people.... It was horrifying to me, as a trainer.

Now, this is one of my favorite videos. This is what a service dog team is about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=magjis3d2Ko

Absolutely understand that service animals come in all shapes or sizes. When in the Disney Magic last year there was a boy with really bad epilepsy who had an Australian Sheppard with him. It was a wonderful story when I spoke with the dad about what this animal has done for the boy.

I know I should not assume but barking all through the parade with a home made vest on did make me skeptical. I had to pay close to $600 to board my pack while I went away and I know it is costly.

I guess I should be less skeptical and assume people are honest.

 

[afnaechiquita]

I agree on pretty much everything, especially the last part. I am very impressed by your friend , and on behalf of myself as a future-service-dog-owner (probably) I thank you for all the time you have spent helping others by helping train the dogs.

You're welcome, but I'm sure I assisted more in the proper technique of cuddling than anything else Her dogs are all actually trained by federal inmates, and then they bring clients in to meet the trainers and the dog will select the person. Quite an amazing process to watch from start to finish, as the benefits are across the board - the inmates, the clients, and the dogs!

Hopefully you'll have one of your own in the future =)

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I was gonna mention seizures.

I can't imagine bringing a dog into the parks would be 'fun'. Don't get me wrong, I have two shih tzu's and I love them buuuuuuuut yeah no. So I'm hoping that they really are service animals because it'd be such a drag to have to worry about a pet in disneyland LOL!

Some people have an impossible time leaving their animal--even for a few hours. My mom was like this (she is no longer alive) and would take her shih tzu everywhere with her. I mean, grocery store, Target, vacation, doctor--she never went anywhere without that dog! And she would have NEVER taken her dog to a kennel! I can't even imagine. She thought people who did that were horrible. So yes, if she had gone to Disneyland, then she would have slapped a sign on that dog that said "service dog" and gone in with a "dare to ask me about it" attitude.

I loved mom beyond all reason, but I knew better than anyone that she could be difficult, unreasonable, and high maintenance. The world is full of people who are similar.

It doesn't make it right, it just is what it is. I too have seen a huge rise of "service dogs" (emphasis on the quotes) in Disneyland, but what can you do? It isn't just old ladies shopping with their dog in TJ Maxx anymore, I am afraid!

 

[crystal1313]

We were there Sunday and saw a lady with a little dog in her jacket (chihuahua size)in New Orleans square.. Thought it was odd and sneaky.

 

[DizMe]

One year--probably about 4 years ago?--I saw a woman with a little poodle dyed bright pink. It had clothes on and the woman looked somewhat similar to the dog. She was in line for Splash and was very incensed when we got up to the front and they wouldn't let her take the dog on the ride. It looked very silly and very, very scared. I felt sorry for it and for the CMs who had to deal with the woman, who was being very unreasonable and VERY loud. She claimed she needed the dog for anxiety reasons but the poor dog just looked completely miserable.

 

[Debbie H]

I have a shih-tzu. He has saved my life twice in the middle of the night, when "he" works for me. He has alerted me or my busband countless times when my blood sugar elevates and I am not aware of it. He has been trained. He is certified. I am a diabetic. Do not prejudge. Dogs for anxiety are not service dogs. They do not certify them for that. Dogs are now sniffing out diabetes, seizures, etc. I have been asked all sorts of questions. People are rude. Then they say things like " oh, I should get mine certified". Seriously people? Do you really want to have a serious medical problem just so you can take Fido with you? Services animals also are not required to wear a vest. I always have my dog wear his when we are out. Recently we were in a fast food restaurant and some lady loudly asked, "since when do they allow dogs in here?" The cashier politely told her he was a service dog. She shut up real fast. Just because they are not labs, shepherds, or some other large dog does not mean they are fake. Do I care what people think? No, as long as he does what he was trained to do, I really don't care if you think my service dog is for real are not.

 

[californiamomof4grls]

I love that video, cry everytime, and I know them! Ilia was the best thing ever for Cole, and it is why my daughter and I can do this. Everyone asks "How can you give them up???" Because someone like Cole NEEDS them.

Absolutely beautiful! What gift you guys are to these families!