Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

Well let's face it. The dogs already know what they're doing. :D

Yey! And, they're probably laughing their muzzle's off when they get back to the kennel's, after working with someone who's more used to walking with an 11 year old dog.

I have to remind Brenda to get up from her naps and I have to tug on her leash to get her to keep up with my walking pace........Boy, am I going to be suprised when a one year old is skipping right along beside me!!!!!

I'll tell you all about it when I return on Monday. :)

My Vet stated that if any foreign port or cruiseline insists that this Certificate be given to them within a time frame of less than 3 months, to have them contact him directly.

Roz,

Any foreign port can set their own regulations, and no, they won't contact your vet directly to see if he thinks they should. Remember that a health certificate says the dog is healthy and free of parasites on the date it was signed. Most countries want that documentation to be current within ten days to two weeks before you set sail. Many countries require a VS vet (someone employed by the USDA) to review the paperwork and stamp it. (Not see the dog, just the paperwork!)

Some cruiselines try to make sure your documentation is in order so that you won't be kept from going ashore with your service dog in the countries that you are visiting. Remember that many of the cruise port countries do not recognize service dogs in any different category than pets.

The USDA tries to make it simpler for folks travelling with their service dogs (remember, many countries make no distinction between service animals and pets in their entrance requirements) by placing many country's regulations on their website. The folks in my local office, which are a 7 hr round trip from me, were very helpful on the telephone, and in person when I hand delivered the paperwork to be stamped.

I took a relocating cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle. We stopped in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. In order to go ashore in Colombia, my service dog had to have an immunization that is not required here... which was a two part dosage that had to be administered two weeks apart.

This is the APHIS website: put the web letters in front...

aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals

Hope you have safe travels, and a good interview Friday!

Linda

My Vet stated that if any foreign port or cruiseline insists that this Certificate be given to them within a time frame of less than 3 months, to have them contact him directly.

 

 

Roz,

 

Any foreign port can set their own regulations, and no, they won't contact your vet directly to see if he thinks they should. Remember that a health certificate says the dog is healthy and free of parasites on the date it was signed. Most countries want that documentation to be current within ten days to two weeks before you set sail. Many countries require a VS vet (someone employed by the USDA) to review the paperwork and stamp it. (Not see the dog, just the paperwork!)

 

Some cruiselines try to make sure your documentation is in order so that you won't be kept from going ashore with your service dog in the countries that you are visiting. Remember that many of the cruise port countries do not recognize service dogs in any different category than pets.

 

The USDA tries to make it simpler for folks travelling with their service dogs (remember, many countries make no distinction between service animals and pets in their entrance requirements) by placing many country's regulations on their website. The folks in my local office, which are a 7 hr round trip from me, were very helpful on the telephone, and in person when I hand delivered the paperwork to be stamped.

 

I took a relocating cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle. We stopped in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. In order to go ashore in Colombia, my service dog had to have an immunization that is not required here... which was a two part dosage that had to be administered two weeks apart.

 

This is the APHIS website: put the web letters in front...

 

aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals

 

Hope you have safe travels, and a good interview Friday!

 

Linda

Linda, thank you for your most helpful information. I should have been more clear. If the cruiseline states that you can not board their ship with your Service/Working Dog because the Certificate is 3 months old, have them call his office. He was specifically talking about Princess Special Needs requesting that Brenda's Certification be within a few days.

And, I would NEVER allow Brenda to be re-vaccinated [at her age it could be lethal], as I was told by my Vet. If Colombia required this, she would not leave the ship.

You are correct about many countries not viewing our dogs as more than just "pets!" I ALWAYS try to initially board from an American Port [ADA applies.] When we went to Brazil we boarded from Florida.

Brenda has stayed on the ship and I take turns going onto the port that requires more immunizations than necessary; more paperwork than normal; more questions or money than is really needed.

The U.S.A. is full of wonderful sights to see and enjoy with my beloved dog before I would ever subject him/her to unecessary or added immunzations - no port or place of interest would ever be worth taking a risk with my dogs life. This may sound dramatic to some.......but, I've heard some truly horrific horror stories, just so someone could see a place of interest with their dog.

Thank you for your good wishes on my CCI testing......It's very exciting for me!

What a month so far, the VA somehow made a administrative error and gave my claim a different date of my appeal. I have been trying since 01/2006 to have my disability upgraded to 100% from my current rating which is 90%. Some how they applied a date of June 2011 to my claim; thus really messing up everything for sure. Well after speaking with two congressional leaders and resubmitting my paperwork again the VA notified me through the Congressional chain of command they have reversed the mistake. Hopefully I will find out within a month if they have awarded me the 100% total disability. I never had issues with the hospital part of the VA; its the administrative side that many like myself have had issues with. Last year they retired my records because someone told them I died, that was fun to prove I was still around...

So I should be so much closer to taking my first Cruise. I originally thought it would be cool to have my kids go also; although now I really would love to go by myself or with my Grand Daughter.

On a happy note, this laptop I am using is one that I purchased for my daughter while she was in high school. Since she has been in college I purchased her a newer and better laptop and she gave me this one back. In her eyes it was a fair trade, lol. So I was going through the hard drive and found this video below of King. This was after Katrina and before my legs really started giving me issues.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50EApYMW1zY

What a month so far, the VA somehow made a administrative error and gave my claim a different date of my appeal. I have been trying since 01/2006 to have my disability upgraded to 100% from my current rating which is 90%. Some how they applied a date of June 2011 to my claim; thus really messing up everything for sure. Well after speaking with two congressional leaders and resubmitting my paperwork again the VA notified me through the Congressional chain of command they have reversed the mistake. Hopefully I will find out within a month if they have awarded me the 100% total disability. I never had issues with the hospital part of the VA; its the administrative side that many like myself have had issues with. Last year they retired my records because someone told them I died, that was fun to prove I was still around...

 

So I should be so much closer to taking my first Cruise. I originally thought it would be cool to have my kids go also; although now I really would love to go by myself or with my Grand Daughter.

 

On a happy note, this laptop I am using is one that I purchased for my daughter while she was in high school. Since she has been in college I purchased her a newer and better laptop and she gave me this one back. In her eyes it was a fair trade, lol. So I was going through the hard drive and found this video below of King. This was after Katrina and before my legs really started giving me issues.

 

Enjoy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50EApYMW1zY

Congratulations! I hope you get exactly what you're hoping for. Planning a cruise is one of the great joys of life.

Great video!

Congratulations! I hope you get exactly what you're hoping for. Planning a cruise is one of the great joys of life.

 

Great video!

Thank you, all I want is to be treated fairly as do all individuals who are DAV's. Sadly there are so many of us now and my case is more of the normal protocol. Its been a very long time having to deal with this and hopefully it will soon come to its end.

Mornin' all:

Thinking of Roz, Ms. Brenny and Morey, all on pins and needles. I think I even have butterflies in the tummy!

All paws and craws crossed........

Any foreign port can set their own regulations, and no, they won't contact your vet directly to see if he thinks they should. Remember that a health certificate says the dog is healthy and free of parasites on the date it was signed. Most countries want that documentation to be current within ten days to two weeks before you set sail.

Very true. I think Roz's dog doesn't go off the ship, though, so that's why she doesn't follow the regulations for foreign countries. She's lucky the U.S. hasn't given her a hassle getting back into the country with an expired health certificate. (Health certificates are only valid for up to 30 days.)

Many countries' regulations are shorter than two weeks for the health certificate; their requirements are 24, 48, or 72 hours old. Those that require a health certificate in order to get the import permit have longer requirements, of course, though some require two certificates (one for getting the import certificate and one within a day or two of arrival for getting into the country).

Many countries require a VS vet (someone employed by the USDA) to review the paperwork and stamp it. (Not see the dog, just the paperwork!)

Yes, some countries require the USDA endorsement. The USDA vet doesn't need to see the dog because they are only checking that the paperwork is complete and done correctly, not that the dog really is healthy or anything. It seems weird, IMO, but it is a quicker app't than if the USDA vet did have to examine the dog, so that's a good thing!

Some cruiselines try to make sure your documentation is in order so that you won't be kept from going ashore with your service dog in the countries that you are visiting. Remember that many of the cruise port countries do not recognize service dogs in any different category than pets.

I'm sure there has been some service dog handler who blamed the cruiseline because their dog couldn't get off the ship even though it was the country or themselves to blame! (The country, if the country was in the wrong about the paperwork or they have lame regulations not permitting a dog off, like Barbados; the person if they didn't bring the right paperwork/get the right tests done.)

Some countries do outright state exceptions for service dogs (such as the Bahamas, with the import permit fee waived for service dogs) and some countries you need to write to and ask for certain requirements to be waived (such as a six-month quarrantine for a dog on a cruise who will only be in port for ten hours or less).

The USDA tries to make it simpler for folks travelling with their service dogs (remember, many countries make no distinction between service animals and pets in their entrance requirements) by placing many country's regulations on their website. The folks in my local office, which are a 7 hr round trip from me, were very helpful on the telephone, and in person when I hand delivered the paperwork to be stamped.

Not to mention USDA endorsement is free for service dogs (with proof of the dog's training), whereas pet owners must pay for the service! :)

I took a relocating cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Seattle. We stopped in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. In order to go ashore in Colombia, my service dog had to have an immunization that is not required here... which was a two part dosage that had to be administered two weeks apart.

Which vaccine is that?

Mornin' all:

Thinking of Roz, Ms. Brenny and Morey, all on pins and needles. I think I even have butterflies in the tummy!

All paws and craws crossed........

I'm home.......The interview was so different than the interview 9 years ago.

I drove down to Carlsbad and stayed at the Carlsbad Inn & Resort. A really lovely hotel, located 1 block from the beach. So beautiful. The Inn is about 14 miles from CCI. I got in on Thursday night and settled in before my interview on Friday morning.

My interview was set for 9:45. I left at 9:00 and got to CCI at 9:30. Other families were arriving and we all started to line-up to get our nametags. There were about 20 families, all waiting for their personal interviews.

We sat around introducing ourselves and a young woman approached me asking me to follow her. We went into a private room, away from the others and she introduced herself as Becca Gordon, she said she would be interviewing me separately and I would be asked to work with a dog by myself. Not in a group. She said that a woman named Sarah would be joining us for the interview. She said because I was interviewing for a "Successor Dog" that the interview would be more abbreviated.

I was asked all sorts of questions such as; what was I going to do with Brenda; who would be caring for Brenda while I went off to work with "Successor"; where "Successor" would be exercized; where would he/she potty, sleep, eat, etc., etc. Since I knew about caring for a Working Dog she just re-iterated how important grooming, brushing teeth and cutting nails was.

Because I work, they wanted to know about "Successor's" place at work; since I've already had a "Working Dog", what were my expectations from a new dog? What tasks are most important to me? And, was there anything new or different that I was expecting out of "Successor?" So many good questions.

Becca and Sarah practiced commands with me [pretending they were a dog; and, I would correct them and tell them "yes, good job", or "no, don't" when they would not sit or not lay down.]

Sarah left the room and came back with one of the most beautiful Yellow Labs I have ever seen. He was one year old with a very course flat coat. He had the biggest paws and ears I have ever seen on a Lab. His name was "Hyde", what a beautiful pup.

I've already learned, 9 years ago, that the dog you practice with doesn't necessarily look anything like the dog you will finally wind-up with. But, I sure loved everything about Hyde.

I never realized how small Brenda's paws were until I saw "Hyde's!"

I practiced with glorious pup, giving commands and walking with him. I loved every minute of it. I had forgotten how it felt to walk with a one year old. They're so full of bounce and joy! And Hyde was so tall, it was easy to touch his head to give him praise! I'm tall and can really appreciate a tall dog.

The day ended way too soon. I could have spent all day with this dog. We all hugged each other and I was told to look for a letter within 2 weeks letting me know if I've made it to the "Waiting List!"

After this part of the process, while waiting for Brenda, I waited another 14 months before I was invited to "Team Training" and I received her. God, I hope it's not that long this time!!!!!

When I got home, of course, I had "Hyde's" odor all over me.......Brenda went nuts.

And, now, it's the "waiting game"......Thanks everyone for your support, I'll keep you up-to-date on how it goes!!!!!

Sounds like you had a great day! Hyde sounds just like my Renie. He was a big boy, too. His hair was course also. But I bet with the fish oil that you give Brenny the hair would be like hers, all silky! I hope you don't have to wait very long. How exciting.

Sounds like you had a great day! Hyde sounds just like my Renie. He was a big boy, too. His hair was course also. But I bet with the fish oil that you give Brenny the hair would be like hers, all silky! I hope you don't have to wait very long. How exciting.

Nancy, thank you so much. When I told the trainers all the supplements I gave to Brenny, they agreed that it wouldn't take too long before any dog I had would be very spoiled........I know it's true and it's such a joy and pleasure to spoil these amazing dogs!!!!!!

Roz, I'm all a quiver just reading your story!! It's like going through it all over again. How exciting!!! Since you are getting a successor dog, you should move to the top of the list with others applying for a successor dog(if any). I can't believe you worked a yellow lab, I can just see you smiling! I'm glad it went well and remember we are all here waiting with you!

Cindy

Roz, I'm all a quiver just reading your story!! It's like going through it all over again. How exciting!!! Since you are getting a successor dog, you should move to the top of the list with others applying for a successor dog(if any). I can't believe you worked a yellow lab, I can just see you smiling! I'm glad it went well and remember we are all here waiting with you!

 

Cindy

Oh! Cindy! You're words are so sweet. It is exciting. I loved every minute of it!!!!

I have to keep it in my head that CCI will pick the dog that THEY think will match me and my needs! If the dog doesn't look like "Hyde", I will make him/her my own. Afterall Brenda was NOTHING like what I wanted but she's my heart and soul. It's all about what's "inside" the dog and I have to keep that in my head and heart!

I am so used to working with young dogs, I forget about their enthusiastic tail wags, those big smiling faces, and their sheer joy just doing the basic commands. I just pictured Roz with my Cooler when she was telling her story. Can't wait to hear how this story plays out. By the way, I had two 8 week old pups home for an overnight. So much fun. It's been a year since Crackers graduated.. Cooler is slated for September camp.

Good Luck with the New pup, sounds like you had a great day.

I am so used to working with young dogs, I forget about their enthusiastic tail wags, those big smiling faces, and their sheer joy just doing the basic commands. I just pictured Roz with my Cooler when she was telling her story. Can't wait to hear how this story plays out. By the way, I had two 8 week old pups home for an overnight. So much fun. It's been a year since Crackers graduated.. Cooler is slated for September camp.

You know, Sunshine, I've been walking "Brenda's walk" for so many years now, I forgot what it felt like to have a puppy walking and responding to me.......it was exhilarating to say the least. Not that I don't adore my Brenny and all that goes with her senior pace.......It's now time for her to kick-back and enjoy those lazy, afternoon naps.

I can't believe it's already been a year since Crackers graduated, unbelieveable how fast the time goes by.......hopefully, it'll be like that in my waiting process.

You know, Sunshine, I've been walking "Brenda's walk" for so many years now, I forgot what it felt like to have a puppy walking and responding to me.......it was exhilarating to say the least. Not that I don't adore my Brenny and all that goes with her senior pace.......It's now time for her to kick-back and enjoy those lazy, afternoon naps.

 

I can't believe it's already been a year since Crackers graduated, unbelievable how fast the time goes by.......hopefully, it'll be like that in my waiting process.

Yeah I agree, as I grow older its hard to believe how fast time passes. My son has been in the Marines 4 years now and my daughter is soon to graduate college. Somebody is getting older and I deny its me....

I just have to tell you guys about the sign that hangs in the front window of our "new" (to us) post office. It says, "Only Seeing Eye dogs allowed." Now how "old" is that and hanging in a government building. I did get a chuckle out of it. The "funny" part is, you see dogs in stores everywhere, here. When its 110+ degrees out I am thankful that the fools do not leave their dogs in the car. There was one man who had his dog in the back of his truck, a week or two ago. It was just getting on the fringe of being too hot for the dog. The man pulled in and was talking on his phone. I was ready to go tell him it was too hot, but he backed out and left. IDIOTS.

Sounds like everything went great Roz. Not that anybody had any doubt. Hopefully you will get a call soon. And if you happen to get a yellow Lab, well your dark clothes will never look the same again. :D

I just have to tell you guys about the sign that hangs in the front window of our "new" (to us) post office. It says, "Only Seeing Eye dogs allowed." Now how "old" is that and hanging in a government building. I did get a chuckle out of it. The "funny" part is, you see dogs in stores everywhere, here. When its 110+ degrees out I am thankful that the fools do not leave their dogs in the car. There was one man who had his dog in the back of his truck, a week or two ago. It was just getting on the fringe of being too hot for the dog. The man pulled in and was talking on his phone. I was ready to go tell him it was too hot, but he backed out and left. IDIOTS.

Once EVERYONE has "Service/Working Dogs Welcome" on the front doors of their establishments the whole world will be a better place.

I am crazed by people who are so thoughtless to leave their pets in their heated cars.

I have no qualms about breaking their car windows. NONE! :rolleyes:

Sounds like everything went great Roz. Not that anybody had any doubt. Hopefully you will get a call soon. And if you happen to get a yellow Lab, well your dark clothes will never look the same again. :D

I'm so used to wearing black slacks [all the time] that when I walked with "Hyde" his yellow/course hair was all over my left pant leg and boy does it show-up on black. [as you well know!]

My friend at work said I'd better start thinking of a wardrobe change if a blonde dog is in my future.

Once again, the CCI Logo becomes my best friend. I can remember 9 years ago how when the letter came accepting me to the "Waiting List" how excited I was and then another 14 months until the invitation came to go to "Team Training", you couldn't get me down off the ceiling!!!! ;)

Here I go again!

Mornin' all:

Roz: I am so excited for you too! A big Blonde boy would be a big change from a dainty black Ms. Brenny! Then we would see TWO striking Blondes and know exactly who you are! :D I'm already not liking this waiting thingy. Come on CCI, we have "people" lined up waiting for news. Tap, tap, tap.

Mornin' all:

Roz: I am so excited for you too! A big Blonde boy would be a big change from a dainty black Ms. Brenny! Then we would see TWO striking Blondes and know exactly who you are! :D I'm already not liking this waiting thingy. Come on CCI, we have "people" lined up waiting for news. Tap, tap, tap.

AWWWW! You're so sweet! At least we'll know that ONE of us will be a strikingly, different look!

Every time I look at Brenda now, I can 't believe how "little" she is. Her legs are short, her paws are small...I always thought she was a "big dog", she's not!

After going to CCI and seeing the dogs that are going into advanced training now.....they're so much bigger than her! For me, that's a good thing!

We returned from a great week on our Alaskan cruise about 1 this morning. I am rocking and rolling in my head despite the calm waters. It was a beautiful cruise. Canadian customs were no problem. The vet called twice while we were away regarding the biopsy Ollie had done. I hope it's nothing too serious but something must not be right. I'll post a few pictures when I get my act together.

We returned from a great week on our Alaskan cruise about 1 this morning. I am rocking and rolling in my head despite the calm waters. It was a beautiful cruise. Canadian customs were no problem. The vet called twice while we were away regarding the biopsy Ollie had done. I hope it's nothing too serious but something must not be right. I'll post a few pictures when I get my act together.

First: I hope that all is well with Ollie and the biopsy is not serious.

Second: Yey!!!!!! Your cruise sounds wonderful......I want more, I want more! Did you love Alaska? How did Ollie do?