Service Animals on Celebrity Ship?

Service dogs are not crated inside the plane cabin. I had one beside me last week on a Delta flight.

Ken

Service dogs are not crated inside the plane cabin. I had one beside me last week on a Delta flight.

Ken

Nor are comfort/emotional support dogs.

After over 30 years between being an EMT and 9-1-1 dispatcher, my heart will always be with children, and animals.

 

Many times NOT ALL!!!!!!! people get exactly what they deserve , or look for their own aggravation . But children and animals are so innocent you can't help but feel for them.

A longtime ago I was on the metro with a friend in Washington, DC. The train was pretty crowded and a blind person was sitting in a sit with his service dog. Well, one of the passengers was not happy that the dog, a Black Lab, was taking up prime real estate near the door entrance. The dog got a little saliva on the his suit pants and he started kicking the crap out of the dog. People were horrified and the poor blind person did not know what to to do. My friend, who was an FBI agent at the time, slammed the man against the door and a pole. Some passengers further away, it appeared, were contemplating street justice. The guy started saying he was going to sue my friend. My friend said that he could risk staying on the train or get off the next stop with him and be booked. He made the smart choice and got off the train.

Years ago when I was an EMT we got a call at the local drive in hamburger joint on a street fight . Seems a guy and his girlfriend were arguing and she had a little foo foo dog on a leash with her and he kicked it.

Two bikers and a pick up truck full of college kids pretty much beat the crap out of him. Dog was OK just scared .

Karma baby Karma :)

I was flying back on a major carrier cross country flight last night when a woman and her inappropriately dressed teenage daughter boarded the plane with a DIRTY disgusting small poodle on a leash and not a crate in sight. My seat mate questioned the lack of a crate and when they ignored her I chimed in.

I raised my voice and indicated this was a symptom of the spoiled generation and they had clearly lied to the airline stating it was a "service" dog to avoid paying the fee to travel with a pet and kennel requirement. Others spoke up too commenting that the dog did not appear to be a service animal and clearly was untrained in obedience let alone to assist someone disabled.

They quickly took their seats and we listened to the thing whine and yap for 6 hours. After touching down in Atlanta they tried to get off the plane as fast as possible to avoid everyone and in her haste they boarded the wrong tram and she left her purse on the tram they boarded heading in the opposite direction of baggage claim. Last I saw of them she was hysterically screaming at an airport employee about trying to get the purse back.

Sometimes karmic payback just isn't worth it.

Nor are comfort/emotional support dogs.

Emotional/Comfort dogs ARE NOT covered by the ADA

http://2012.servicedogsfl.org/?p=22

However comfort and emotional dogs ARE allowed in establishments and aircraft with a letter form the person's doctor stipulating the need. It varies from animals covered under ADA laws in that ADA DOES NOT require documentation, other than observing the animal performing work or tasks.

ADA Defines a service animal as "A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability."

An emotional support or comfort dog does not do work or perform tasks.

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

These are Fine nuances between ADA covered animals and animals considered as comfort/emoitional support.

I was flying back on a major carrier cross country flight last night when a woman and her inappropriately dressed teenage daughter boarded the plane with a DIRTY disgusting small poodle on a leash and not a crate in sight. My seat mate questioned the lack of a crate and when they ignored her I chimed in.

 

I raised my voice and indicated this was a symptom of the spoiled generation and they had clearly lied to the airline stating it was a "service" dog to avoid paying the fee to travel with a pet and kennel requirement. Others spoke up too commenting that the dog did not appear to be a service animal and clearly was untrained in obedience let alone to assist someone disabled.

 

They quickly took their seats and we listened to the thing whine and yap for 6 hours. After touching down in Atlanta they tried to get off the plane as fast as possible to avoid everyone and in her haste they boarded the wrong tram and she left her purse on the tram they boarded heading in the opposite direction of baggage claim. Last I saw of them she was hysterically screaming at an airport employee about trying to get the purse back.

 

Sometimes karmic payback just isn't worth it.

I sure don't wish bad things like that to happen to people but at my hotel on the beach it is very frustrating when someone tries to pass their family pet off as a "service animal" with similar results to what you described on the plane and then gets angry when we tell them they must remove the pet because it is disturbing other guests.... a TRUE service animal is FAR better behaved than most humans!!:eek::)

I sure don't wish bad things like that to happen to people but at my hotel on the beach it is very frustrating when someone tries to pass their family pet off as a "service animal" with similar results to what you described on the plane and then gets angry when we tell them they must remove the pet because it is disturbing other guests.... a TRUE service animal is FAR better behaved than most humans!!:eek::)

More businesses have to be more responsible like you in removing comfort/support dogs that misbehave or are not trained. If it becomes a pain in the neck to these people, some will then leave little fluffy home. I think the problem is that many businesses just assume that they will get sued by these posers, if the tell them their dog has to go.

I can understand times when flying is a necessity; when is taking a cruise a necessity?:D

Well, I guess those of us with disabilities aided by service dogs could just stay home.

After all, we're lucky in this day and age to have the Internet. We can have our groceries, clothing and medications delivered. Work from our houses. Skip the library and bookstores in favor of buying Kindle books. Friends and relatives can come to us.

We can just watch a video delivered by Netflix if we want to see what the Mediterranean looks like.

Well, I guess those of us with disabilities aided by service dogs could just stay home.

 

After all, we're lucky in this day and age to have the Internet. We can have our groceries, clothing and medications delivered. Work from our houses. Skip the library and bookstores in favor of buying Kindle books. Friends and relatives can come to us.

 

We can just watch a video delivered by Netflix if we want to see what the Mediterranean looks like.

You keep doing what you do!!!!! Forget about these backwards idiots on this site......

I travelled on Celebrity with a very well known blind customer of theirs....I believe she has more thatn 100 cruises with the line. Her dog was beyond wonderful....loved the martini bar. On the last night she let a small group of us, who had been hanging out all week, pet him and even the staff were on the floor petting him, she said she "gave him the night off".

If half the passengers acted as nice as that dog we would be in business:)

Thanks, cherylroslyn, for the cheering words! (I have to admit I was just yanking BosoxI's chain a little.:D)

Loved the story about Martini Bar Dog's night off! Most of us with service dogs enjoy introducing the dog when the timing is good. The dogs love it too.

I received my Lab four months ago and we are still in our training year for the partnership. I now "get it" why service dog partners aren't being mean or aloof when they try to control the access to their dogs, especially young dogs. I've had several episodes of people suddenly coming out of nowhere grabbing at the dog, trying to feed her dog biscuits, etc. when she is trying to do her work. It confuses the dog and interferes with commands given, therefore the handler's control over her behavior.

Dogs aren't robots and even though they arrive very well trained, that's just the beginning. Daily sessions for the life of the partnership reinforce obedience and tasks. We all want our dogs to appear totally professional when they are out and about, and it takes a lot of work to keep that happening.

(And that's why fake service dogs annoy real service dog handlers so much.)

Thanks, cherylroslyn, for the cheering words! (I have to admit I was just yanking BosoxI's chain a little.:D)

 

Loved the story about Martini Bar Dog's night off! Most of us with service dogs enjoy introducing the dog when the timing is good. The dogs love it too.

 

I received my Lab four months ago and we are still in our training year for the partnership. I now "get it" why service dog partners aren't being mean or aloof when they try to control the access to their dogs, especially young dogs. I've had several episodes of people suddenly coming out of nowhere grabbing at the dog, trying to feed her dog biscuits, etc. when she is trying to do her work. It confuses the dog and interferes with commands given, therefore the handler's control over her behavior.

 

Dogs aren't robots and even though they arrive very well trained, that's just the beginning. Daily sessions for the life of the partnership reinforce obedience and tasks. We all want our dogs to appear totally professional when they are out and about, and it takes a lot of work to keep that happening.

 

(And that's why fake service dogs annoy real service dog handlers so much.)

Sounds like your dog and you are great partners. Hopefully, I'll be able to cruise with the two of you and as much as I would love to give your dogs hugs, I'll just stand back and admire the hard work and dedication that your dog does to help you in your everyday life. True service dogs are a blessing.

Fake service dogs annoy the heck out of me and I hope one day, there will be some regulations with regard to them.

It's a good think we haven't been discussing service horses much, because if this were a horse, I think it would be dead.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

I am a dog lover, and don't have a problem with dogs on a cruise, BUT---

the animals should not be allowed in casino, restaurants, theater, etc. They should (in my opinion) be only allowed on upper outside decks and the cabins with the owners. The owners should be subjected to rules regarding dogs peeing or pooping around the ship- (owners need to clean up the mess- be fined if not adheering to the rules, just like at apartment complexes that allow pets. My daughter's building has cameras on the grounds- If a tenant does not pick up after dog, he/she is subject to a $250 fine.

But I don't have a problem of "emotional support dogs" in general. People who go to the trouble of filling out paper work and needing to take their animals on a cruise, etc. probobly really need emotional support! I love my dogs, but I would never take them on a cruise vacation. It isn't a vacation to me if I still need to feed and walk them etc. Also, who wants to deal with them barking at people walking by cabins and putting up with dirty looks from other passengers?

DW jand I just flew on a plane with a woman and her uncrated dog. A nice pup. Well behaved. I love dogs and they have always loved me. but this was just a regular pooch, and I made a comment to DW who travels very frequently. She said the woman was standing in front of her in the jetway and her hands were trembling and that there are increasing numbers of dogs on flights. All I can think of is people complaining about peanuts so often that some airlines just don't serve them anymore. So what about dog/cat allergies? Maybe people who are nervous flyers shoud do what a dear friend did: an infantry veteran of Normandy, once wounded by bayonet, another by shrapnel, certainly no coward, but fearful of flying, so he would always take a train or drive. I can understand times when flying is a necessity; when is taking a cruise a necessity?:D

My Service Dog is my partner. He goes where I go, EVERYWHERE. He'll be on his 5th cruise on the 20th. My retired SD had finished her 15th cruise before she retired. Cruising is my vacation choice. Both my dogs have been to Las Vegas, to Europe, Canada and on many airplane flights. I just prefer cruising!

My dog goes to work with me, to the bank, to the library, in a plane, on a train....EVERYWHERE!

I expect him to act with respect to others and to respect the environment we're in.

NO DOG should be allowed in the public venue if they are not formally trained, period!!!!

If I see someone trying to pass off their "pet" as an SD and it's behaving badly, I will call them out!!!!

Life is better for me, with a SD. I will not go anywhere without one!

I love it when "people" treat their dogs with respect, kindness and love.

 

Thank you to both of you.

 

Taking a Service Dog on a cruise is not always easy but I love cruising and since my DH passed away my Service Dog, "Horton", assists me through life and gives me the confidence to continue to work and travel. I couldn't do either without him!

Horton is not a service dog - he is a pet. Leave him home.

DON

I am a dog lover, and don't have a problem with dogs on a cruise, BUT---

the animals should not be allowed in casino, restaurants, theater, etc. They should (in my opinion) be only allowed on upper outside decks and the cabins with the owners. The owners should be subjected to rules regarding dogs peeing or pooping around the ship- (owners need to clean up the mess- be fined if not adheering to the rules, just like at apartment complexes that allow pets. My daughter's building has cameras on the grounds- If a tenant does not pick up after dog, he/she is subject to a $250 fine.

 

But I don't have a problem of "emotional support dogs" in general. People who go to the trouble of filling out paper work and needing to take their animals on a cruise, etc. probobly really need emotional support! I love my dogs, but I would never take them on a cruise vacation. It isn't a vacation to me if I still need to feed and walk them etc. Also, who wants to deal with them barking at people walking by cabins and putting up with dirty looks from other passengers?

True Service Dogs have every right to be / go everywhere that their owners go (seriously... You think it right that the blind Person only have access to a "portion" of the ship / cruise experience vs a sighted person ? Cause that is essentially what you are saying !! )

As for their "business" there are provisions for this made by the Cruise Co... So discreetly & professionally, that most Pax like yourself don't even have a clue as to where it happens.

I assure you the Service Dogs are not relieving themselves all over the ship, or on the Celebrity Lawn as you may envision.

So not like your irresponsible neighbourhood pet owner !!

Service Dog Owners are great Pet Parents in my experience (have met several CNIB Dogs & their Owners in my lifetime). ALL treat their animals as they do themselves a shining example of appropriate behavior and personal cleanliness

Others who claim to have "service animals"... Not so much.

So once again it is a case of a few misusing / misrepresenting themselves and affecting the whole group

Cheers!

Horton is not a service dog - he is a pet. Leave him home.

 

DON

Don, have we met? I respectively tell you that YOU don't know what you're talking about. YOU have no idea what Horton can or can not do or what he does for me. Until you are more informed, again, I respectively suggest that you keep your comments to yourself.

Or, wait until we meet onboard a cruise ship and tell me this to my face!!!!

Horton's as much a pet as you are!!!

Don, have we met? I respectively tell you that YOU don't know what you're talking about. YOU have no idea what Horton can or can not do or what he does for me. Until you are more informed, again, I respectively suggest that you keep your comments to yourself.

 

Or, wait until we meet onboard a cruise ship and tell me this to my face!!!!

 

Horton's as much a pet as you are!!!

With all due respect, I'm a disabled person, since age 2, and have had fully trained service dogs. I've also contributed to the original law, PL-94-142, which became the Americans With Disabilities Act, so I know the law. Unless your dog provides something other than emotional support, such as predicting seizures, assisting the visually or hearing impaired or assisting you with daily living activities, it's NOT a service animal. But if your dog does more than just keeping you company, if he does assist with daily living activities, has been trained and is registered by a real organization for service dogs and not via one of the many fly-by-night fake internet places, then by all means its a service animal. But like I said, if it just provides emotional support, under the law it's not a service animal and is not entitled to the same privileges as a real service animal.

My dog helped me to stand if I fell, assisted with opening doors, picked up objects that I dropped, brought me the phone in an emergency and many other daily living activities. If your dog just makes you feel good, makes you feel less lonely and more relaxed, sorry, but that does not fall under the realm of the ADA. Like I said, a true service dog must do things to make a disabled person's life easier, allow them to live independently or provide a service like alerting to an upcoming medical emergency. Feel good dogs are not covered in any way by the ADA.

Until cruise lines and other public places learn the law and grow a set to tell passengers that little Fifi the Maltise that is pushed in a buggy is not a service animal, we will continue to be inundated with pets who's owners refuse to keep them home. And these people who technically violate the law make it extremely difficult for disabled persons like me who have true, trained and registered service animals.

Roz's dog Horton is a real service dog that has been fully trained, including tasks for her physical disability (it is not my place to tell you her medical info.), by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). Horton is not an emotional support animal.

And there is no real national registry for service dogs; almost all dogs registered online are not real service dogs.

Don, have we met? I respectively tell you that YOU don't know what you're talking about. YOU have no idea what Horton can or can not do or what he does for me. Until you are more informed, again, I respectively suggest that you keep your comments to yourself.

 

Or, wait until we meet onboard a cruise ship and tell me this to my face!!!!

 

Horton's as much a pet as you are!!!

When you use words like "assists me through life and gives me the confidence to continue to work and travel. I couldn't do either without him!" it sounded like the way most people describe their pet dogs. If I misspoke, I apologize.

You do have to agree, however, that many people abuse the intent of the service animal law and insist that their animal (whatever species it is) and insist that their pet animal is a service animal because it makes them feel good. There is a big difference between this and a true service animal.

DON

With all due respect, I'm a disabled person, since age 2, and have had fully trained service dogs. I've also contributed to the original law, PL-94-142, which became the Americans With Disabilities Act, so I know the law. Unless your dog provides something other than emotional support, such as predicting seizures, assisting the visually or hearing impaired or assisting you with daily living activities, it's NOT a service animal. But if your dog does more than just keeping you company, if he does assist with daily living activities, has been trained and is registered by a real organization for service dogs and not via one of the many fly-by-night fake internet places, then by all means its a service animal. But like I said, if it just provides emotional support, under the law it's not a service animal and is not entitled to the same privileges as a real service animal.

 

My dog helped me to stand if I fell, assisted with opening doors, picked up objects that I dropped, brought me the phone in an emergency and many other daily living activities. If your dog just makes you feel good, makes you feel less lonely and more relaxed, sorry, but that does not fall under the realm of the ADA. Like I said, a true service dog must do things to make a disabled person's life easier, allow them to live independently or provide a service like alerting to an upcoming medical emergency. Feel good dogs are not covered in any way by the ADA.

 

Until cruise lines and other public places learn the law and grow a set to tell passengers that little Fifi the Maltise that is pushed in a buggy is not a service animal, we will continue to be inundated with pets who's owners refuse to keep them home. And these people who technically violate the law make it extremely difficult for disabled persons like me who have true, trained and registered service animals.

Well said

So the conclusion is Horton is just a pet. Court closed

Well said

 

So the conclusion is Horton is just a pet. Court closed

Amd why is Horton just a pet, I thought the owner listed that Horton was obtained through a registered training organisation.

I have never met anyone who said they were incapable of working without the support of their PET dog. Such people may exist, but I have never met them.

Roz does not need to satisfy your curiosity by providing you with the details of her disability. Nor does she need to prove to donaldsc the true status of her service dog. While I have found the events reported in this thread appalling and distressing, I think you owe Roz a better-stated apology than you have provided.

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I have never met anyone who said they were incapable of working without the support of their PET dog. Such people may exist, but I have never met them.

 

Roz does not need to satisfy your curiosity by providing you with the details of her disability. Nor does she need to prove to donaldsc the true status of her service dog. While I have found the events reported in this thread appalling and distressing, I think you owe Roz a better-stated apology than you have provided.

 

 

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Not sure if that was aimed at me, but as I was the previous post I imagine so, I was asking why Esprite thought Horton was a pet as it seems he came from an accredited assistance dog organisation, and whilst I would love to know how he assists, that is nothing more than curiosity and a real interest in how dogs assist their owners.