Quampapetet

I need to get a "cabana boy" to move in and just take care of my Service Dog!

To just take care of your service dog? ;) ;) ;) Really, Roz?!?!?! :p

ok question.... Anyone ever hear of a "hearing service parrot?" This guy in our building claims his parrot is a service animal grandfathered in the ada. He's a con artist and an idiot. But I'm trying to find out if there is such a thing. Of course the ada doesn't recognize the parrot now. but he says its trained and certified. And we all know there is no certification.

 

Cindy

There's no grandfather clause in the ADA. The bird is a pet, plain and simple. Some states are behind the times and still have laws stating service animals can be any animal, so if he is in a state with such a law, he might have access with his bird (if it fits all the requirements of said state law, which might only recognize animals from programs or not include hearing alert animals, etc.) while in that state. The bird is not under the ADA, though.

He probably just bought fake IDs from a Web site.

Is everyone sitting down? I have been accepted by CCI to attend team training in August (Northwest Region)! I can hardly believe it since it seems like I have been waiting forever. I can't tell you how excited I am!

 

Dianne

 

PS to Fairbourne - glad to hear that Aruba made it through her surgery and is back home.

Congratulations!!!! :D That's not too far away at all, so very exciting that we should have a new service dog in the group soon!

I love the photos of Aruba - wow, how much she has changed in a year!!! And my puppy will turn one year at the end of this month already! Crazy. I won't be able to make it to see her on her birthday :(, but I will send her presents and a cake. :) Her training is coming along nicely.

In Vancouver and other areas of Canada don't expect your dog to be welcomed. They don't follow the ADA but are becoming more and more informed of Service Dogs and therefore more welcoming. We were asked to leave the Gardens and a few stores and restaurants were not so welcoming a few years ago. Hopefully, they've become more wise.

 

While Canada doesn't have a federal service dog law, there are laws in at least some of the provinces. Vancouver is in British Columbia, which has had access laws for a long time and this fall will have newer laws. Here's some info. on how to obtain certification for B.C. under the current law: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/guideanimal/

It is always a good idea to research for any access laws in countries you are visiting before you go.

Fairborne, oh my! What a naughty puppy Aruba is currently being! I think you deserve some chocolate!!! Don't give up!

Fairborne, how old is Aruba now?

Well...the countdown has begun. This is the last week with Davis. We will be turning him for advanced training on Friday. Hopefully he likes college and becomes someone's amazing service dog. If not, we have a local family that wants him. So if Davis and college aren't a match, we hope this local family will be lucky enough to get him as a pet. The hole in my heart is starting to grow as I type this. But with any luck, when we get back from Disney World, we will be picking up our next challenge. Friday is gonna be a long day.

Good luck to Davis and good luck to you on getting over his absence! You know you're awesome for raising him!

Quam, thanks for the tip on a good dog restraint. Diana had one a while back that was a complete piece of junk. So she has been really wary of all the different brands and their safety claims. Gibson weighs 76.5 pounds, so is at the top of the range. She is going to measure his girth to see if he fits that way. He isn't overweight, just a hefty boy. :o

 

Beckie

I hope he fits! They will eventually be coming out with the next bigger size, but I guess there have been delays on that - I don't know if they are safety issues or manufacturer issues or what. This is the brand I got for my puppy.

I know it's really weird ..... and I've heard from other puppy walkers who have managed to get into a disabled toilet in this particular shopping mall that they then get locked in! Can you imagine! I know the door was definitely locked the day we were all there doing our training session in the mall, as I tried it! We ended up having to take turns using the regular stalls, with one of us holding the pups - ridiculous.

 

I must stress this is not normal at all for the UK, just in case anyone gets the wrong idea about spending a penny here! There are plenty of very good disabled access facilities and this was the first time I've ever heard of this!

 

I must get to the bottom of this - so to speak! :rolleyes:;):eek:

Glad to know that it isn't the norm! I can't believe they locked someone in the stall! That's crazy!!

It was very reassuring... her career change out of the Guide Dogs for the Blind program in CA came about because of a small breed-typical cataract. The Dogs for the Deaf trainer said their vet described it as needing to wear reading glasses for a human, but that it would not affect her service dog career.

 

The ACVO-volunteer eye doctor (who was quite handsome, Raylene and I thought), said it's like seeing the world through glasses with a slight scratch and that her eyes are great! It was wonderful to get that second opinion.

That's great! I am sure it felt really good to hear that.

The only problem here is some of the shopping malls lock their disabled toilets and you have to have some sort of key to open them. Which is great in keeping them available for folk who genuinely need them of course, and in that case they have the key, but useless when you are training a pup and the guy cleaning the loos, just looks at you like you are mad when you ask him to open the door for you! :rolleyes:

Really?! They lock the accessible stalls? Wow. How do those who need it get the key?

Gibson gets the entire back bench seat in the car for his very first road trip. We put a memory foam mattress topper and a Disney quilt so he would be comfortable.

Very cute! Please use a safety-tested car harness to keep him and all the humans safe, as a dog in a car crash becomes a flying object that can get hurt/killed as well as hurt/kill the humans - and nobody wants that! I recommend the Sleepypod Sport harnesses, since they have been crash-tested and have three points of safety like human seatbelt do and are easy to use (just thread the seatbelt through the back of the harness and buckle it in).

I love the bilingual patch! What a great idea!!

I got mine too, last week. I'm now using the chewable, monthly for fleas and ticks. But, I'll use the other when I run out of the chewables.

 

I am a firm believer in Heartguard [i know it's the brand name] medication and anything that will keep my dog flea and tick free.

 

Our dogs go into restaurants and other public places, we don't want them scratching and infested with any vermin.

 

Our Service Dogs should ALWAYS be well groomed and clean. They don't just represent us, they represent the organization and anyone else who may come into this establishment after us; maintaining their skin, coat, ears and teeth makes for a healthier, happier dog. ;)

Heartguard is for heartworm and other internal pests. Heartworm can be given to your dog by mosquitoes (another reason those things are evil!) and it is a serious problem if your dog gets heartworm, as it can be deadly. If your dog gets heartworm, it cannot be active during the months of treatment for it, as being active can kill the dog since the dying heartworm can go into the heart and kill the dog. This means no work and no play, just hanging out in a crate all day. This is why heartworm preventive is SOOOO important! I recommend you give it year-round no matter what region you live in (many vets recommend this now instead of stopping in the winter since mosquitoes can still be around on milder winter days), but especially if you travel to warm places (including the Caribbean for cruises and Florida/California for Disney) in the winter. If you stop it for the winter, you cannot start it again without getting a heartworm blood test done to make sure your dog is not infected, since if he is infected and takes heartworm preventive and especially if he is active, he could die (see above).

Ticks can pass on diseases to dogs, too, of course, so it is important to protect from them. And fleas are gross, obviously, plus some dogs are allergic to them. Some Caribbean countries have an abundance of both these critters, so definitely make sure your dog is protected before venturing out!

I received the other new IAADP benefit last week in the mail - a 6-month supply of K9 Advantix flea & tick. Great freebie!

 

Today we went to the vet eye doctor for her free exam, another wonderful program for service dogs annually in May if you register in April.

I have done the ACVO eye exam twice and it is a great thing! I hope your pup was told she has perfect eyes!

You also need an import permit for St. Maarten and you can find the application for it here: http://www.sxmvetclinic.com/exporting-importing.pml You can find information on how it works here: http://m.stmartinluxuryvacationhomes.com/blog/208/1242

We use boots called Muttluks on my daughter's service dog when we go to Disney World. In order to get the dog used to them, put them on him/her and immediately take them outside for a walk. They will walk funny for a while, then they should get used to them. We have puppy raiser friends that use Mushers Secret balm to coat the dog's pads instead of the boots. They swear by it. We are going to try it next month in Disney World.

http://www.muttluks.com/

If you're an IAADP member, there is a benefit for Muttluks - check the IAADP Web site for more information!

Thank you for all the wonderful information.

 

The NC thing is good to know since that is where I'm at. :) Just for endorsement sake, and to cover my butt, I'll see if Florida's USDA will do it and have it sent to my parents for them to bring when we meet at the port. If not, maybe another surrounding state. It may end up going to Albany.

 

I checked the St. Maarten site and they state, "Animals are admitted temporarily to the island with the following papers: a health certificate dated no more than 10 days before visit and a record of inoculations, including a rabies shot administered no more than 30 days before visit."

 

So, we'll be good to go. No major testing required and it looks like minimal paperwork.

You don't need the endorsement for these ports. The purpose of endorsement us that the USDA vet checks that you have all the required paperwork for the country/countries you are going to. You only need to bother with the endorsement if one or more countries requires it.

NEVER MIND - St. Maarten requires the endorsement!

We'll be stopping in San Jaun, PR; St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. I've skimmed about half the pages of this thread, but 718 pages total are a lot to cover, so I just want to see if what I've found is correct for our ports as far as excursions and permit requirements go.

 

At minimum, I should have the following:

WHAT HAS BEEN ASKED FOR:

1. RABIES INFORMATION (Expiration Date;Tag#;Serial #;Type of Vaccine) - Got it; three year vaccine done at the end of March 2015.

2. RABIES VACC. CERT.(This Cert. has all the info. of the Vet & the VACC) - Got it

3. ANIMAL LICENSE (from the city in which you live.) My county/city doesn't require an animal license...it's a small, pretty rural area so it's optional to get one. If absolutely required, I can get one from the vet. I already asked them about it.

4. STATE DEPT. OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE CERT. (from your vet.) - Will get closer to the cruise date from the USDA vet. Will be arranging any necessary testing in July or so, if needed.

5. DOGS PERMIT/LICENSE WITH NUMBER (from training/service agency.) - Have state service dog certification tag and card.

6. YOUR PASSPORT/DRIVERS LICENSE - Have DL and Passports on order

No, you don't need a local/state/etc. dog license or dog permit/license. For those ports, just the health certificate (which obviously has the rabies info. on it) is needed. In PR and the USVI the ADA applies, since they are US territories, so that's helpful for access!

Love the dog photos!

Update...Raylene and I noticed on our walks this week that the lawn around the tiny Terrorista (Poodle)'s house has lots of white marker flags, which I'm guessing is a new "invisible fence" collar system.

I hope so - and hope the owner takes the time to train the dog for the fence!

The application for the Bahamas import permit: https://forms.bahamas.gov.bs/documents/AGRI_Application%20to%20import%20Domestic%20Animals.pdf

Hi everyone! I'm back! I've posted a couple of times and I got several helpful responses. I had asked about documents needed for traveling with my dog to the Bahamas.

I was given the advice that I needed an import form on top of shot records and USDA health certificate.

My travel agent just called me today and told me that all I needed to travel with my Guide, is 1 year rabies proof, USDA approved health certificate, ID for me and my Guide, and that Carnival has a form that I need to fill out ahead of time and sendBack. She is sending that form to me as soon as she gets it.

 

Does this seem correct? I specifically asked about an import form or if I needed to contact the Bahamas ahead of time for any reason and she said no. I hate to ask the same question repeatedly, I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Thank you all for your help!!!

Your agent is wrong and if you follow her advice, your dog will NOT be allowed off the ship! It happened to someone recently who failed to research the requirements for the Bahamas (and then stupidly blamed the cruise line instead of herself - and cried to the media about it). I go to the Bahamas every year on land trips, so do it a lot.

You need to send for the Bahamas import permit - please be sure to write "service dog" on it so they know why you're not including the fee (service dogs are exempt from the $10 import permit fee)! It can take up to three months (sometimes longer) to get the import permit mailed back to you, so if your cruise is soon, you will need to have them fax it to you - and you will want to call them to be sure they do it in time.

When you go to get the international health certificate (from a USDA-approved vet), you need to bring the import permit with you because your vet needs to fill out the second page in regards to your dog's microchip number and health status. The first page lists all the requirements (required vaccinations et al - titers are accepted), but for a cruise, you don't need to see a vet in the Bahamas within 48 hours of arrival since you're there for shorter than that. You need to obtain your international health certificate before your trip within 48 hours of your departure from home. You do not need to have the health certificate endorsed by the USDA regional office.

The three-year rabies is accepted; you do NOT need to revaccinate with the one-year vaccine! (Do be sure your vaccine is still valid enough and if you need to revaccinate, you do it more than thirty days before the trip, of course.)

You don't have to have an ID for your dog; access to cruise ships leaving from the US is no different than access to any other business in the US. (For yourself you need a passport or birth certificate and ID, of course - everyone needs that.) Yes, Carnival has a firm you need to fill out about what your needs are for reasonable accommodations. I do recommend bringing your dog's rabies certificate with you just in case - one time, I didn't notice that my vet forgot to state on the health certificate that the rabies was the three-year vaccine and we were in the second year of it, but thankfully I had the rabies certificate with me, so the issue was immediately resolved without the need for any international phone calls to my vet back home.

Hello Fairbourne and family, glad to hear that you're all doing well.

 

I'm back into the work routine and getting ready for our Golf Tournament on the 13th.

 

Horton celebrated his 6th Birthday yesterday and enjoyed his peanut butter, rice cake birthday cake. He still acts like a puppy and is the most wonderful working dog in the whole world!!!!

Horton is six already?!?! :eek: Where has the time gone?!

I hope he got something good for his birthday! :D