Pets in Dining Room?

[nealstuber]

Some people have what are called 'companion' pets, they are legally service animals that are doctor prescribed. Some of them are genuine service animals for people who need them for a variety of reasons, some are pets when people have gotten a doctor to sign a letter saying they are 'needed'.

Any genuine service animal, companion or otherwise would sit on the floor, not at the table and would never drink out of a glass on the table. They are trained to use 'potty pads'

As hard as it may be, try not to judge, some people really do need these animals.

 

I think I'll need a hit of medically perscribed pot before I can except the notion of medically perscribed companionship.:rolleyes: What's next, medically perscribed sex workers?

[nealstuber]

We have been on 13 cruises and has never seen someone bring their pet dog to the main dining room to eat till our cruise Oct. 23,10. This was no service dog. This was someones pet. It was drinking out of the glass on the table and eating off a plate. When they left the table they put it in a dog stroller. Where does this dog go to pottie at sea????:eek:

 

At least the dog wasn't wearing jeans or a baseball cap - all is well. I wonder if Fido prefers traditional dining or anytime dining?

 

This is such great news as it opens up a whole new dimension for the topics we love to revisit.

 

Does Fido think we need a topless deck?

Does Fido take his pups out of school to cruise?

Does Fido smuggle booze?

 

I hope Fido gets his own profile on cruise critic and joins us soon to weigh in on these issues.:)

[salty dingo]

We ate in the MDR next to a large service dog. Except for the fur on the carpet you would never know the dog was there.

 

I have no problem with pets in the dining room. I think it is sort of cool!

[Dengail]

Could care less is a service "animal" is on a cruise or not, these are very well trained and behaved animals, and I'm glad they are able to travel with their "humans";).... however, having an "animal"-key word being animal- eating from the table in a public dining room is just silly and disgusting. PPPLLLEEEASEE! BTW, I love dogs and cats and own some, among many other animals.

[madge57]

So Zornot2Z your saying that you don't like service dogs or smokers on cruises?? Well I'm not a smoker and I don't bring my animals on a cruise and I don't like complainers either that think they are better then others!! If you don't like them stay away from them!!!!:(

[lady_cruiser]

..............

That being said - it seems the animal you experienced has some pretty bad habits for a service animal.

No,it is not the service animal but the "owner" who has some pretty bad habits by allowing their dog to drink from a glass in a public dining room instead of bring a dog bowl. An animal is an animal and will only do whatever its owner allows it to do.

 

PS I am alway a hugh animal lover.

[Razman69]

...I think I'll try to get someone to sign off that my 150 lb rottweiller is a service dog and get him to come on board too... he's really friendly! :D

 

(I'm just picturing in my head right now the complete panic on the lido deck if he managed to get loose and just round looking for people to play with, oh yeah and I'd have to get him his own seat on the plane, O.K. maybe not such a good idea...) :eek:

[lady_cruiser]

...I think I'll try to get someone to sign off that my 150 lb rottweiller is a service dog and get him to come on board too... he's really friendly! :D..............

 

LOL. You might have something here. You can use him to save that prime lounger near the pool or a front row seat at all the shows. After all, what person in their right mind will try removing him from any chairs :p

 

We might have something new here. Instead of using books, sun glasses or towels to save chairs we can stay using big, very big, dogs.

[Razman69]

Lady Cruiser,

 

That's genius!

 

I also think I'll get someone to make him a tuxedo for formal night. He'll have the prime rib!

[Wyattcruiser]

You are right about misinformation. Rabies is the least of our worries when it comes to zoonotic diseases. Biannual vet exams coupled with proper preventative care are key. Few states have health standards for working animals above those of companion animals. An animal required by law to enter most establishments should have a higher standard of care. I think service animals should be parasite free before they are allowed in dining rooms. Sorry for being confrontational but I believe the standard of care should be higher for animals that we must accept in to our dining rooms.

 

There are some people who consider their pets to be part of the family, I would enjoy cruising with them. People who consider pets to be part of the family would never not provide quality care.

 

He never mentioned service dogs. He just said that people consider their pets as part of their family and take care of them. You are reading something into that that isn't there.

 

I read what is posted........sounds like he thinks service animals need a higher standard of care but people who consider their pets part of the family he would have to problem cruising with them because they would have the higher quality of care........which is why I said he sounds like he doesn't think people with service dogs are considered part of the family;)

No biggie most people that know people with service dogs know that they absolutely are part of the family and it is critical to them to make sure they have the upmost care:) Just rubbed me the wrong way.....

[Crusin Hogs]

I love animals and I have both dogs and cats, . However, I've never had a dog or cat at my table. That is going too far. I understand the need for a service dog, but this one was allowed too much freedom on the cruise ship.

 

At times I would rather have a dog eat at the table than

some of the people , I have seen eat ! LOL (jk)

[quickrate]

Much mis-information here.

 

From CCL website:

 

ervice Animals

 

Carnival Cruise Lines permits service/working animals onboard; a working/service animal is legally defined and is trained to meet the disability related need. We do not allow guests to sail with pets, therapy/companion animals, or service animals in training. Please know that many of our exciting ports of call have established strict entry requirements for animals. Therefore, guest traveling with service animals must contact the Department of Agriculture (http://www.aphis.usda.gov) to determine the policy of each destination regarding admission of service animals to the particular country. Please know that many of the ports you may visit will only accept annual rabies vaccinations. The three-year rabies vaccination is not recognized in these countries. These required documents must be hand carried with you along with your service animal's current vaccination records; you will be asked to submit these records once onboard. Furthermore, you will need to contact our Guest Access Department to make arrangements prior to your voyage for your service animal. We can be reached at specialneeds@carnival.com or 1.800.438.6744, ext. 70344. Pets are not permitted onboard.

 

That being said - it seems the animal you experienced has some pretty bad habits for a service animal.

That might be what Carnival's rules say but we have seen a therapy dog on a cruise. About a year ago, A lady had a little lap dog on a cruise with her and told me she has severe anxiety attacks and the dog senses when one is about to happen and she takes medication to stop the incident. I don't think that would be classified as a service dog.

Pat

[LHP]

Re-reading my post....I did not want to leave anyone with the impression that I thought therapy/service animals are a "crutch". I do not...

 

we have just strived to make our son as "independent" as possible....

 

which seems to be getting harder with age instead of easier.... :(

 

Anytime an animal can make someone's life better...that is a blessing....

 

but as with anything....rules of etiquette apply. A therapy dog or service dog is trained to be "invisible" until needed.....

[lillian marie]

Anxiety dogs are considered to be service dogs. They are trained to react.

[dominichunter]

...I think I'll try to get someone to sign off that my 150 lb rottweiller is a service dog and get him to come on board too... he's really friendly! :D

 

Same w/my Mastiff. He's a heavy drooler.:D

[Tantra1]

I think I'll need a hit of medically perscribed pot before I can except the notion of medically perscribed companionship.:rolleyes: What's next, medically perscribed sex workers?

 

You mean there is such a thing? How do I go about qualifying? :)

 

Cheers!

[Tantra1]

...I think I'll try to get someone to sign off that my 150 lb rottweiller is a service dog and get him to come on board too... he's really friendly! :D

 

(I'm just picturing in my head right now the complete panic on the lido deck if he managed to get loose and just round looking for people to play with, oh yeah and I'd have to get him his own seat on the plane, O.K. maybe not such a good idea...) :eek:

 

I've seen adults who are deathly afraid of cats (even kittens) and severely panic and others who react the same way to dogs of any size. I don't understand it but there it is. I feel sorry for those folks who are deprived of the opportunity to enjoy the company and affection of a dog or cat but there should be some consideration for the folks with these phobias.

 

Animals of the non-human kind are not appropriote for confined environments of a ship. They may also contribute to medical problems for passenger who have severe allergic responses to dogs or cats. But that isn't my call. The cruise lines make their own rules which I will agree to if I want to vacation on a ship. I would, however, draw the line at an animal eating off the dining room table if that was allowed. It's bad enough having to watch some of the human animals feeding at the trough.

 

FWIW I like animals of all kinds and never pass up the chance to interact with them whether they are dogs, cats, horses, goats, elepants, etc. Interestingly enough they seem to know it. :)

 

Cheers!

[aprilivy]

I had day-surgery a couple of weeks ago and when I got there to sign-in, there was a woman with a dog on her lap.

The nurses at the surgery center decided to confront her saying that the dog could upset people coming in to have surgery. She showed a letter from her doctor that showed this was an "anxiety companion" dog. She explained that they were upsetting her (and the dog was reacting by kissing her on the face) and violating her rights.

She wasn't there for surgery, just there to drive someone home...I think she should have gone outside (the weather was lovely).

I looked it up on the internet - amazingly, you can get a doctor's note to carry with you, but the dog doesn't even have to be certified in any way!

I think there are certainly service dogs that are trained to serve and then there are those "humans" who will use this "anxiety companion" dog thing as a way around rules.

I'm not here to judge....just saying, there is certainly a gray area here.

[nrdsb4]

Our 19 year old son has Autism and it is amazing what an 8 pound "peekapoo" can do.

 

He has severe panic attacks. He loses all reason and can harm himself because he loses all reason (run out in front of a car etc).

 

With this dog in his arms (or on a leash that he is holding)....our son suddenly becomes "superman" (afraid of nothing)...or at least not so afraid that he will hurt himself. Our son suddenly puts "protecting this dog" above his panic attacks. He can understand that running out in the street and possibly in front of a car "might" hurt the dog...so he does not do it. But he won't use the same reasoning on himself.....

 

While the panic attacks around some things has gotten better with age as we have tried to desynsitize him .... other things have gotten worse.

 

We debated (and are still debating) the benefits of this animal traveling with him. He does not currently because we have tried to keep our son as independent as possible of any "crutches". As long as we have this option, this animal will not travel with us. But I can tell you that this animal certainly makes a world of difference at home.

 

But there are a lot of kids with Autism who have animals that travel with them that are there to literally save their lives. (especially if the child is what is called "a runner".) We have a friend who child is "leashed" to a retriever and that dog has saved his life on more than one occasion....because this child will run into the streets for no reason....whether traffic is coming or not.

 

Wow, that is really interesting and what a great thing for the kids you mentioned. Thanks for sharing that story.:)

[chocolate melting cake]

We've encountered service dogs on our last two cruises--both were well trained for their "jobs". One was a 100+ pound Burmese Mt dog, a seeing eye dog who went on a tender boat with us! The other was a toy poodle who warned her post traumatic owner of anxiety attacks. When we walked the deck each morning it was hard to miss this "rest area". In both cases we spoke to the "owners" and were impressed by their gratitude for the ability to cruise, without the dogs they could never have attempted it.

 

[Mikew0805]

but I don't want to see someones "companion" pet on a cruise.

 

Your in luck. Simply do not look at them, and it will not affect you.

 

There are some people who consider their pets to be part of the family, I would enjoy cruising with them. People who consider pets to be part of the family would never not provide quality care.

 

I am one of them, I might venture to say that his medical care, healthy food & Snacks, and level of physical activity is better than mine. :eek: :p

 

I would love to take my dog on a cruise if it was allowed, but then I jump back to reality, and realize I would not take my dog out of this country... who knows what he could catch. NO WAY!

[Quampapetet]

We have been on 13 cruises and has never seen someone bring their pet dog to the main dining room to eat till our cruise Oct. 23,10. This was no service dog. This was someones pet. It was drinking out of the glass on the table and eating off a plate. When they left the table they put it in a dog stroller. Where does this dog go to pottie at sea????:eek:

 

That is disgusting! You are correct that no real service dog would be doing that.

 

I cruise with my service dog and, like in all other restaurants and places, she lays quietly in place under the table the entire time I'm there. That's what real service dogs do (unless a task is needed, then they do the task and go back to laying under the table [or leaving with their person if the person is having a medical emergency the dog alerted to, such as a seizure, and needs to get to a safer place]).

 

If I saw a pet like this on a cruise (or anywhere else where pets aren't allowed), you can bet I would be complaining as it would not only be a possible distraction for my service dog, but it would be a possible danger for my service dog if that pet was aggressive (and we've come across many aggressive pets, including ones whose owners never said anything before the dog got near my dog - including one lady who brought her dog up to mine without saying anything, then after she pulled her attacking little dog away and was walking away [without saying a thing to me!] I heard her talking to her dog saying, "See, I knew you weren't good with larger dogs!" :eek::mad:). It also, of course, would give a bad name to real service dogs because not everybody would realize this dog wasn't a real service dog. Not everybody even knows what a service dog is and even those who do know, not all of them have seen one in person before.

 

As for service dogs pottying at sea, it depends. Carnival offers a box of paper dog litter to be placed on the balcony or another spot on the ship. If you want another substance, Carnival makes you bring it yourself. So, I use faux grass on top of disposable dog pee pads (like flat diapers) on my balcony. Other cruiselines do it differently; Royal Caribbean said they would provide a 4' x 4' box of Cypress mulch, but the box they provided was only half that size (way too small) and they would not put it on my balcony, but on the complete other end of the ship and five floors down. So, I find it best to just bring my own dog potty, then I know what it will be and where!

[Quampapetet]

Some people have what are called 'companion' pets, they are legally service animals that are doctor prescribed. Some of them are genuine service animals for people who need them for a variety of reasons, some are pets when people have gotten a doctor to sign a letter saying they are 'needed'.

Any genuine service animal, companion or otherwise would sit on the floor, not at the table and would never drink out of a glass on the table. They are trained to use 'potty pads'

As hard as it may be, try not to judge, some people really do need these animals.

 

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are NOT service animals. They cannot go into public areas where pets aren't allowed (such as stores, restaurants, hotels, etc.) and they cannot go on cruise ships. They CAN live in no-pets-allowed housing and fly in airplane cabins with a doctor's letter, the letter for flying needing to contain specific elements such as a statement that the person has a mental disability found in the DSM-IV (official book doctors use that lists all the mental disorders and some other types of medical issues, like neurological problems) and that the pet is needed on the trip and some specifics about the doctor and his credentials.

 

Service dogs are trained to do something that directly corresponds to the person's disability, such as retrieve items for somebody who can't/has a hard time getting dropped or out-of-reach items or guiding somebody who can't/has a hard time seeing. Service dogs are also trained to behave impeccably in public places. These are the requirements of the law in the U.S.

[sanmarcosman]

Looks like one of the dogs left some TP on the poop deck! :eek:

 

[Quampapetet]

The ADA does not require animal training, a Doc stating the benefit is all it takes. The animal does not even have to be current on vaccines.

 

That is completely incorrect information. The ADA has always required the service animal to be trained to do something for the disabled person as well as be able to behave in public. The person must be disabled as per the ADA, but a statement from a doctor is not a must-have in order for the person to have a service animal. The new version of the ADA going into effect in March states a few more specific requirements as well as limits "service animals" to only dogs, but gives access provisions in most cases to service miniature horses as well. Service monkeys (used by those with quadriplegia) will not have access anymore, although they normally are used only in-house anyway.

 

All dogs, including service animals, must follow the local and state laws regarding vaccines and other health requirements. Most, if not all, areas of the U.S. require dogs to have current rabies vaccinations (one-year or three-year vaccines). The other vaccines don't generally have laws governing them, but that is good because as it is, rabies is given far too often (it does not need to be given every three years). The other vaccines do NOT and should NOT be given every year; this can lead to reactions, medical problems, and a shorter lifetime. The vaccines can last the whole life of the dog without having to be given again, but blood titer tests can be done to make sure the dog's system is still good about those antigens (I do this every year).

 

Each country has different requirements for allowing the service dog off the cruise ship - some don't allow them at all (such as Jamaica), some have lots of stuff to go through (such as rabies titers with a six-month wait before the dog can enter), and some are easy to enter (just a health certificate and rabies certificate).

 

Emotional Support Animals are not service animals, are not under the ADA, do not have access, do not belong on cruise ships, and do require a doctor's letter IF they need to live in no-pets housing or go in the cabin of an airplane. They are otherwise no different than any other pet.

 

Service dogs are not pets. Their owners have access to take them in almost every public area (some exceptions apply, such as a sterile surgical suite or the food prep areas on the "Behind the Scenes" tour of the ship) because they need the dogs.