Those "service" animals

[Elaine5715]

Was on a long cruise where a man in a wheel chair traveled with his tiny poodle and his mother. A friend on the cruise did a number of tours this lady (a TA) had organized. She thought it was very odd that they left the dog on the ship for every day long excursion. And every time we saw them on the ship, the dog was being passed around by the mother's friends. The dog also had her own suitcase full of all her clothes. The mother dressed the dog up every day. Even had formals. And they had a birthday party in one of the specialty restaurants for it. They cruise alot and it seems like they don't want to leave the dog at home.

 

Sorry, but that does not sound like a service dog.

 

It wasn't. Staying on the ship while in port with someone is acceptable since the ports may require quarantine but the other behavior is not. It is cheaper to bring the dog than pay for home care.

[sistar]

I have a service dog (Shorkie) he is 16 lbs. He alerts for my low glucose levels and PTSD. I do have a serious problem with people claiming their dogs are service animals. It makes it hard for the rest of us who as you stated have had our dogs trained or are training them with a group. My dog is going to stage 3 (bringing me med or candy) we are with 4 Paws 4 Patriots. I have decided to give him a break for me for my cruise since my daughter will be accompaning me. Although I must say I am very nervous about this but thats why I also have meds for aniexty.

[CapeCodCruiser]

While I totally support service animals of all kinds I would not tolerate them misbehaving. The law is very clear about the expected behavior of a service animal and a business's right to remove a customer with a poorly behaving service animal.

 

I have seen service dogs on almost all of my cruises but all were very well behaved.

[sailing canary]

I assume this is only an issue on cruises originating in the US?

I can't imagine anyone wanting to fulfil all the quarantine regularions which would be needed if the animal was going on a Mediterranean or other European cruise, or any other where the departure point was outside North America?

[CapeCodCruiser]

I assume this is only an issue on cruises originating in the US?

I can't imagine anyone wanting to fulfil all the quarantine regularions which would be needed if the animal was going on a Mediterranean or other European cruise, or any other where the departure point was outside North America?

 

Most places do not quarantine anymore. All you need are current shots, a chip and a travel health cert for most countries.

 

For much of the EU when you land in one country you can take all of that to a local vet and be issued a pet passport for most of Europe.

[sailing canary]

As far as I am aware, the EU pet passport only applies to the animals of EU citizens, so if the posters were from this area then yes, you are correct. Our cat had one and we could travel freely between member states provided the vaccinations were up-to-date.However,most of the posters commenting on this topic are in North America. To bring a pet from there to join a cruise ship in Europe would involve a great deal of paperwork and expense, not to mention - for France certainly - 21 days quarantine on entry as the US is not considered to be a rabies-free country.

Australia and New Zealand also have stringent bio-security and quarantine requirements, so I'm not sure which countries you meant that don't have quarantine requirements? Have you personal experience of this?:confused:

[GUT2407]

As far as I am aware, the EU pet passport only applies to the animals of EU citizens, so if the posters were from this area then yes, you are correct. Our cat had one and we could travel freely between member states provided the vaccinations were up-to-date.However,most of the posters commenting on this topic are in North America. To bring a pet from there to join a cruise ship in Europe would involve a great deal of paperwork and expense, not to mention - for France certainly - 21 days quarantine on entry as the US is not considered to be a rabies-free country.

Australia and New Zealand also have stringent bio-security and quarantine requirements, so I'm not sure which countries you meant that don't have quarantine requirements? Have you personal experience of this?:confused:

 

Last time I checked quarantine in Australia for dogs from USA was six months, there was talk of reducing it to three, not sure if that has happened.

 

So you could say we take quarantine seriously.

 

We have been involved in breeding and showing dogs for over 30 years and have dealt with dozens of imported dogs over the years.

[CapeCodCruiser]

As far as I am aware, the EU pet passport only applies to the animals of EU citizens, so if the posters were from this area then yes, you are correct. Our cat had one and we could travel freely between member states provided the vaccinations were up-to-date.However,most of the posters commenting on this topic are in North America. To bring a pet from there to join a cruise ship in Europe would involve a great deal of paperwork and expense, not to mention - for France certainly - 21 days quarantine on entry as the US is not considered to be a rabies-free country.

Australia and New Zealand also have stringent bio-security and quarantine requirements, so I'm not sure which countries you meant that don't have quarantine requirements? Have you personal experience of this?:confused:

 

I have researched this quite a bit.

 

Here is from the French Embassy in US:

 

http://ambafrance-us.org/spip.php?article783

 

In order to bring their dogs, cats and ferrets from the United States into France, travelers must abide by the following conditions:

 

- The animal must be at least 12 weeks old.

 

- Every animal must be identified by a microchip (standard ISO 11784 or annex A ISO standard 11785) or a tatoo. In case of identification with a tattoo, the tattoo must be clearly readable and applied before July 2011.

 

If the microchip standard is different from standard ISO 11784 or annex A ISO standard 11785, you must bring your own scanner in order to read the microchip. In the United States, you may acquire the microchip standard ISO 11784 on the web at :

http://pettravelstore.com. It should be implanted by a veterinarian only.

 

- Every animal must have a valid rabies vaccination. If it is the first rabies vaccination for the pet, you must wait 21 days between the last shot of the vaccination protocol and departure.

 

A revaccination (booster) must be considered a primary vaccination if it was not carried out within the period of validity of a previous vaccination.

 

- Any rabies vaccination prior to the micro chipping is considered as non-valid.

If your dog, cat or ferret has been vaccinated before being fitted with a microchip, the animal will have to be vaccinated again after the microchip is inserted. You must wait at least 21 days between the completion of the vaccination protocol (the same as for a primary vaccination) and the departure date, even if the dog had been vaccinated before the micro chipping.

 

- A blood test is not required for animals coming from Canada and the United States (including Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Gibraltar, Greenland, Northern Mariana Islands).

 

From the UK DEFRA site:

(the US is a listed country https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/listed-and-unlisted-countries)

 

When you enter or return to the UK from another EU or listed country your pet must meet the entry requirements.

 

You don’t need to meet the pet travel rules if you travel within the UK or between the UK and the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

 

Your pet must be microchipped. This must be done before your pet gets a rabies vaccination.

Your pet must have been vaccinated against rabies. You must wait 21 days from the date of the vaccination before travelling. The day of vaccination counts as day 0 and not day 1.

Your pet must have a pet passport or third-country official veterinary certificate.

If travelling from a listed country, fill in a declaration confirming that you aren’t going to sell or transfer the ownership of your pet.

Dogs must have had a tapeworm treatment no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before entry.

You must use an approved transport company and an approved route unless you’re travelling between the UK and Ireland.

You’ll need to follow additional rules if you’re entering or returning to the UK or another EU country from an unlisted country.

 

 

I have not researched Australia but a quick google led me here:

 

http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs/step-by-step-guides/category-3-step-by-step-guide-for-dogs

 

There is a minimum 10 day quarantine - not 6 or 3 months

 

and yes - the US is considered a rabies free or controlled country

[tropicalsunset87]

Thanks for your post. I am disheartened to see some of the posts on here. My son is Autistic and is a Type 1 diabetic that shows virtually no signs of high or low blood sugars. He was on 7 shots of insulin to stay alive. The shots became a challenge with his sensory issues, so he is now on a pump. He is three. A 3 year old who will literally die without controlled blood sugars. He has been in range for a diabetic coma several times and has had no symptoms. We just spent $15,000.00 on a Diabetic Alert Dog to help detect before my son's blood sugars spike or crash. She can detect over 20 minutes before it happens. She has completed over 1,500 hours of intensive training. Would it be less of a hassle to leave her home? Of course, but her job is to be with my son to help him. We went to Disney before we had his dog and he become unresponsive. Super scary..Not all disabilities are visible, and I would like to personally thank you for posting what you did. Some people actually get it. This momma never slept at night until we had Bella. Whatever we can do to help our little ones with their daily and potentially life-threatening battles, we will continue to do.

 

 

 

Not even close. We're quite happy to leave our pets at home and spend a week without them. The less responsibility we have on vacation, the better.

 

The need for a service animal isn't always obvious to the casual observer. To me, the need for a service animal is no different than the need for a wheelchair, portable oxygen, or any other device that makes life better for someone with special needs. Those of us that don't have special needs should count our blessings. Taking just a few minutes to talk with someone that has a service dog can alleviate a lot of ignorance about why someone has the animal.

[alexspepa]

So the dog appears to be optional. Why go to the trouble? Leave the dog at home and push the wheelchair

Congratulations...you just moved to the top of the list for rude and ridiculous CC comments; quite an accomplishment actually.

 

edit just realized I replied to a year old post...oh well.

[Sea Hag]

I work at an information desk at a National Conservation Area. You would be amazed how many people have "service" chihuahuas. I wish that I could get a large service snake and train it to eat service chihuahuas.

 

DON

 

:D I think you've got something there!