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

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi Roz

 

Darling girl - if anyone addressed me in this tone I would just be ignoring them! It is so rude!

 

I read your post which this someone took objection to and quite honestly, what's all the fuss about. Must be a slow news day in someone's cloud cuckoo land. Nancypants has covered anything else I would say.

 

Maritime law is a minefield, what with ships registered in all sorts of places, usually to get around labour laws, and if course varies depending on territorial waters etc., but your point was not about this.

 

It was, as I read it, about choosing to not leave the ship with the dog in a foreign port where the animal was to be further examined or required additional inoculations. There should be absolutely no need in this situation for further tests or examination by the port authorities to stay on board. I'm sure Roz is more than happy to show anyone Hortons required health documents.

 

For someone to first suggest and I quote "throwing money around" to a foreign official "is going to get you what you want, then you are sadly mistaken" did make me laugh when only a short time later it was suggested by this same person to offer a monetary bribe! As a first resort!!! Crikey! :mad:

 

To suggest that anyone in a foreign country offers a monetary bribe to get oneself out of trouble, as the FIRST course of action, is absolutely disgraceful and a sure fire way of being locked up immediately in some countries!

 

Roz, don't you worry, there are stinkers everywhere and sadly it was pretty smelly around here yesterday!

 

Fairbourne, thank you. Yeh, that's me, throwing money at people. Wait, maybe he meant, "when you go into a strip bar, don't forget to throw your money around!" :rolleyes:

 

I must admit he did have me chuckling.

[wizard-of-roz]

Missy Aruba - now called Rhubarb affectionately by her new dad - is growing so fast.

 

We had our first visit by our puppy walking supervisor today, and she's done really well. He showed me how to do a full body check and bless her little heart she did not object one iota when he showed me how to check her all,over, but of course, rolling over for a belly rub probably helped!

 

She's gotten an increase in her food allowance, and we are going to try 3 feeds from the weekend.

 

He said to put some of her kibble in water and then let it soak in and make a sort of paste and stuff a kong with that - out of her daily allowance of course! They are very strict with the dogs diets .... I could do with that sort of help myself! LOL!

 

She continues to be a delight and is growing so fast.

 

The best news is we are now "allowed" to go out in low risk areas for walks, so that's great news for me as she's itching for stuff to do and it's pretty low risk around here!

 

So forward it will be with her brand new lead and her shiny new Guide Dog medallion on her scratchy new collar! I'm excited to take her out to meet her public!!! :D

 

And here's another photo just for you Aunty Roz :D Red is my favourite colour, I love this warm snuggly fleeces throw! puppy kisses to you and Horton xxxx

 

And to Aunty Nancy xxxxx puppy kisses too! :D

 

One more thing, I seem to remember tomorrow is the day when Diana and Gibson will find out they've won that competition - note I did not say "if"! :D I'm sure Beckie will let us know.

 

I love this little girl. Red's her color! I'm so glad she gets to go out into the world and you get to show her off. She looks so much like Horty.

 

Every day is a new day for all of you. She's going to love her kong treat. Brenda loved her kong no matter what I stuffed it with. Horton loves peanut butter and a bit of rice cake in his.

 

It sounds like your loving having her in your lives. Enjoy her. There's nothing like a puppy to bring smiles and joy to everyone! And, knowing what her future holds for her......it also brings a lot of goosebumps!

 

I was thinking about Becky too......I hope she wins.

[wizard-of-roz]

Cindy, where are you?

[wizard-of-roz]

mrluckycharms, I think the whole flavor of your post are dictated by your first work, Lady, you could use WizardofRoz, since it is her screen name. We are a peace loving group and will get a good chuckle out of your responses. Have a great day.

 

Nancy, I love how you go in for the jugular by saying: "OK, since I'm bored and have nothing else to do, here goes" - That made me laugh so hard, I literally peed my panties! I won't mess with you, no not me!!!!!

[mrluckycharms]

Ok so if the ship is sinking is there a life vest for the dog and room in the lifeboat? Or does the pooch go down with the ship? Pretty sure dogs are not allowed on life boats!

[fairbourne]

Ok so if the ship is sinking is there a life vest for the dog and room in the lifeboat? Or does the pooch go down with the ship? Pretty sure dogs are not allowed on life boats!

 

Yes and yes.

NO!

Incorrect!

[Caribbean Chris]

On just about any forum, internet trolls will appear, often a tipoff is people who have a small number of posts and have only recently joined. Sometimes such a person creates a new screen name and starts all over again after violating policies one time too many and getting kicked off a forum by moderators.

 

With this forum, some posters will stir the pot about formal nights, smoking, how bad some feature of a cruiseline has become, or the behavior of certain nationalities. They get their jollies by attempting to be provacateurs with outrageous comments, then sitting back to see how annoyed they can make other people.

 

I think trolls dabble less often in topics such as concerns of those who cruise with disabilities. Yet here we have one, a person who responded to a quadriplegic in a wheelchair who needs to bring his own cutlery on board so he can feed himself - by suggesting that the man's wife should feed him in the dining room. And now he is an expert on service dog matters.

 

Hard to do, but "don't feed the troll," as the saying goes.

[Caribbean Chris]

Fairbourne, thank you so much for the ongoing wonderful photos of little "Rhubarb." I find it so interesting to learn what you are allowed and encouraged to do. My service dog accepts all kinds of body exams, ear cleaning, claw trimming, etc so perfectly, and I have always suspected this was due to early handling and training by her Guide Dogs for the Blind puppy raisers.

 

You are doing a great thing, as do DKD and other puppy raisers here!

[wizard-of-roz]

Fairbourne, thank you so much for the ongoing wonderful photos of little "Rhubarb." I find it so interesting to learn what you are allowed and encouraged to do. My service dog accepts all kinds of body exams, ear cleaning, claw trimming, etc so perfectly, and I have always suspected this was due to early handling and training by her Guide Dogs for the Blind puppy raisers.

 

You are doing a great thing, as do DKD and other puppy raisers here!

 

I so agree. When I take Horton to the Groomers and he just puts he paws up like a true gentleman to be clipped and when we go to the Vet and he checks his ears and Horton just stands and lets himself be examined, I know it's due to some very hard work on the part of his adoring Puppy Raisers who spent so much time teaching him to be gentle, kind and patient.

 

I'm so proud of him and get to stand back and take all the credit of their hard work.

Edited May 29, 2014 by wizard-of-roz

[wizard-of-roz]

Yes and yes.

NO!

Incorrect!

 

:p :rolleyes: ;)

[wizard-of-roz]

On just about any forum, internet trolls will appear, often a tipoff is people who have a small number of posts and have only recently joined. Sometimes such a person creates a new screen name and starts all over again after violating policies one time too many and getting kicked off a forum by moderators.

 

With this forum, some posters will stir the pot about formal nights, smoking, how bad some feature of a cruiseline has become, or the behavior of certain nationalities. They get their jollies by attempting to be provacateurs with outrageous comments, then sitting back to see how annoyed they can make other people.

 

I think trolls dabble less often in topics such as concerns of those who cruise with disabilities. Yet here we have one, a person who responded to a quadriplegic in a wheelchair who needs to bring his own cutlery on board so he can feed himself - by suggesting that the man's wife should feed him in the dining room. And now he is an expert on service dog matters.

 

Hard to do, but "don't feed the troll," as the saying goes.

 

Kind of sad isn't it?

[mrluckycharms]

Was on a Royal Carib. cruise 6 months ago and in the MDR a woman's service dog ( golden retriever) growled at a family member. We complained to the DR Manager and later found out that this wasn't the first problem during this cruise that passengers had with this particular woman and her dog. 2 days later at the next port, the woman and her dog were forcibly disembarked from the ship! Was happy to see RCCL adhere to its policy regarding the conduct of service dogs!

[wizard-of-roz]

Was on a Royal Carib. cruise 6 months ago and in the MDR a woman's service dog ( golden retriever) growled at a family member. We complained to the DR Manager and later found out that this wasn't the first problem during this cruise that passengers had with this particular woman and her dog. 2 days later at the next port, the woman and her dog were forcibly disembarked from the ship! Was happy to see RCCL adhere to its policy regarding the conduct of service dogs!

 

:rolleyes:

[dobiemom]

Fairbourne, thank you. Yeh, that's me, throwing money at people. Wait, maybe he meant, "when you go into a strip bar, don't forget to throw your money around!" :rolleyes:

 

I must admit he did have me chuckling.

Hey, I resemble that remark! ;)

[dobiemom]

Hard to do, but "don't feed the troll," as the saying goes.

You can also put the troll on your "ignore" list:

Through your User Control Panel: User CP, Settings & Options, Edit Ignore List. Then, click on their name and choose: User List, Add to Ignore List

[wizard-of-roz]

You can also put the troll on your "ignore" list:

 

Thanks Marcia for the "troll" lesson. I've never done it before but there's always a first time, as they say!

[frecgenswl82]

:p :rolleyes: ;)

 

I learn so much from this forum. I tried to copy Roz's post about letting service dogs on life boats. I also admire all of you that have service dogs, and the puppy raisers. I like the pictures and the updates on all the dogs. I was joking to my DH that I need to go to Amazon.com,buy a fake certificate, leash and vest for our cat. So our cat can come on cruises with us--------NOT. Again Thank you for all the correct information and pictures. Those of us not cruizing love to hear (read) about your adventures. Susan a Lurker

[wizard-of-roz]

I learn so much from this forum. I tried to copy Roz's post about letting service dogs on life boats. I also admire all of you that have service dogs, and the puppy raisers. I like the pictures and the updates on all the dogs. I was joking to my DH that I need to go to Amazon.com,buy a fake certificate, leash and vest for our cat. So our cat can come on cruises with us--------NOT. Again Thank you for all the correct information and pictures. Those of us not cruizing love to hear (read) about your adventures. Susan a Lurker

 

Susan,

Lurk-a-long.....we love having you onboard with us. Every time I cruise there's always a few people who ask if I'm "Roz" and is that "Horton?" Because they watch, read and love our dogs just like we do. They're always so thrilled to get to pat and love on Horton "in person!"

 

Thank you for all your support.

 

Our dogs are covered under our ADA/Dept. of Justice umbrella [so to say!] We're covered, so that means they're covered. They go into the lifeboat right along side us.

 

Horton's not too crazy about the "tenders" and neither was Brenda. He's so tall and his fear of losing his footing can be overwhelming for him. But, he does it and soon learns to relax. Brenda was so fearful of glass elevators/floating stairs and tender boats. Thank goodness we didn't have to deal with any of the above too much in our daily lives.

 

When I put Horton into a tender I always ask that there's someone to greet him on the other end.....it gives him more confidence. The tenders are the lifeboats [i believe] so, it's good practice to take one every now and then.

Edited May 29, 2014 by wizard-of-roz

[MCDW]

Hi All,

 

Misty and I are back from our TA to Rome and had an amazing time. I love going to Rome each spring.

 

This was Misty's first cruise and she did herself and her trainers so proud. Her only "challenge" was that the crew had put rabbit shavings in the relief box. She looked at me, with a look that said "you have to be kidding me."

 

I saw there were bags of wood chips and asked that some be added to the box and then all was well.

 

The night before we left for the cruise, Misty's trainers came to our hotel and put her through her tasks and she was dead on with each of them. My chest swelled with pride!!

 

We have the next cruise booked from Rome to Fort L., via the Carribbean this October.

 

Little Oz is enjoying his retirement to the Max.

 

There was another dog on the ship. Not sure what he/she does because no one saw it out of it's pet carriage. It was a little white one and apparently very healthy.

 

I tried attaching a picture of Misty, but for so reason I can't. Will try later.

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi All,

 

Misty and I are back from our TA to Rome and had an amazing time. I love going to Rome each spring.

 

This was Misty's first cruise and she did herself and her trainers so proud. Her only "challenge" was that the crew had put rabbit shavings in the relief box. She looked at me, with a look that said "you have to be kidding me."

 

I saw there were bags of wood chips and asked that some be added to the box and then all was well.

 

The night before we left for the cruise, Misty's trainers came to our hotel and put her through her tasks and she was dead on with each of them. My chest swelled with pride!!

 

We have the next cruise booked from Rome to Fort L., via the Carribbean this October.

 

Little Oz is enjoying his retirement to the Max.

 

There was another dog on the ship. Not sure what he/she does because no one saw it out of it's pet carriage. It was a little white one and apparently very healthy.

 

I tried attaching a picture of Misty, but for so reason I can't. Will try later.

 

Colleen, welcome home! I'm so glad to hear that Misty did so well! I know that's a huge relief for you.

 

What ship were you on? Tell us more about your cruise.

[wizard-of-roz]

Barbara, I've been thinking about you. How are you doing?

[wizard-of-roz]

Hi All,

 

Misty and I are back from our TA to Rome and had an amazing time. I love going to Rome each spring.

 

This was Misty's first cruise and she did herself and her trainers so proud. Her only "challenge" was that the crew had put rabbit shavings in the relief box. She looked at me, with a look that said "you have to be kidding me."

 

I saw there were bags of wood chips and asked that some be added to the box and then all was well.

 

The night before we left for the cruise, Misty's trainers came to our hotel and put her through her tasks and she was dead on with each of them. My chest swelled with pride!!

 

We have the next cruise booked from Rome to Fort L., via the Carribbean this October.

 

Little Oz is enjoying his retirement to the Max.

 

There was another dog on the ship. Not sure what he/she does because no one saw it out of it's pet carriage. It was a little white one and apparently very healthy.

 

I tried attaching a picture of Misty, but for so reason I can't. Will try later.

 

Don't you hate when the only challenge is something the ship did wrong. I see you took care of it and all was good. I'm so glad.

[MCDW]

Colleen, welcome home! I'm so glad to hear that Misty did so well! I know that's a huge relief for you.

 

What ship were you on? Tell us more about your cruise.

 

We were on Celebrity Silhoutte and went from Fort L to Nice, Sicily, Sardinia, Gilbraltor then Rome for a week. The weather was picture perfect except for 1/2 day of rain and big hail.

 

The staff were wonderful to me and so helpful. The passengers fell in love with Misty and I had offers of dog sitting, grooming etc. Of course, I didn't take them up on there offers, but it was lovely of them to volunteer.

 

Every night the room steward made up my side of the bed and on the other side put Misty's blanket all squared off with her toys on top. So cute.

 

I was so proud of Misty. She did really well in such a different environment. And, you know it was really good for us as a new Team. I was the only one she knew and we really bonded more. That was needed because I still love and miss working with little Oz.

[Caribbean Chris]

MCDW, I'm so glad Misty had a good crossing! Loved your details about the crew, the blanket at night, the other passengers. What a great bonding experience for your new dog.

 

We love transatlantics and hope to take my new Hearing Dog on them in the coming years. In fact, we were booked for Celebrity this October from Rome back to Ft. Lauderdale before we knew the dog was joining us so soon, but we cancelled mainly because the pre-itinerary was complex and long. Taking a 9day Caribbean sailing instead as a test run later this year.

 

Question - did you take Misty ashore? Was the paperwork difficult for those ports?

[Caribbean Chris]

Roz, thanks for mentioning the tenders. I had never given a dog-related thought to those floating gangways and tender boats. We do have tender ports on our next cruise. Good suggestion to have second person assist.