Is this really a service dog?

OneofThree

OneofThree

Well-Known Member
joejccva71 said:
However, dogs should just be left at home, with friends/family or in a dog hotel while people are on vacation.
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Absolutely, and for the record -you won't find a bigger "dog person" than myself. I've owned German Shepherds my whole life and have two that live happily outside right now (as I'm allergic, sadly). That said, I wouldn't dream of imposing on other people with them, and expect the same consideration in return. From what I understand, the discounts right now at the Yacht Club are significantly higher than the Beach Club, and it likely has a lot to do with this dog nonsense. If that's the case, it won't take long before Disney figures out this is going to hurt them in the wallet.
 
jimbo mack

jimbo mack

Well-Known Member
joejccva71 said:
I agree about children not being well behaved. However, dogs should just be left at home, with friends/family or in a dog hotel while people are on vacation. Leaving dogs in a hotel room for 7 hours or even longer at a Disney World resort is an issue. They're in a strange place away from home and what they're used to. Also not seeing their owner(s) for a long day every day (while they're in a strange place) can get any dog (even trained dogs) restless and anxious.

I mean if I was paying $100 a night for 1 or 2 nights in a hotel and there were dogs, meh...I wouldn't take much issue.

But when I'm paying upwards of $7000-10,000 for a vacation, I don't want to hear or smell a dog at the resort, and I certainly don't want to have to watch where I step. If Disney enforced the rules, I'd be partially ok with it, but they don't.
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Yes I agree to dogs not being left in hotel rooms all day. We always leave our little pooch with our trusted dog sitter whenever we go on holiday. It wouldn’t be fair on him.

It’s a shame dog owners who don’t pick up after their poop or keep them clean - it gives the rest of dog owners a bad name. Agree you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune and endure that.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Chef Mickey said:
Probably another person taking advantage of the system and not only ruining it for others, but also marginalizing the people who actually need the special assistance and/or are special needs.

I don't know about this case and of course you're a jerk if you speculate or question anything, but you know it happens more often than it should.
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Heck our local TV station and newspaper is advertising some fly by night outfit who offers to get your dog 'certified' as a service animal, That makes me incredibly angry because the idiots are going to ruin it for those who TRULY NEED service animals.
 
EOD K9

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
I was on a DCL cruise two weeks ago and a gentleman had is Australian Poodle service dog with him. He was a veteran in a wheelchair and obviously wasn’t an issue. It irks me when I see people abusing the service animal rules. I’ve been a K9 handler for 15 years with two K9 partners and am about to get my third. I love dogs but I wouldn’t bring them with me for vacation. If I was on a road trip to see family, and stopped in Disney for one night, then that’s one thing. But for a whole vacation?.....absolutely not. Now, to play devil’s advocate for half a second, when I am at work, sometimes I let my dog just be a dog. That being said, is it possible that the dog in question is a service animal? Yes, but not probable.
 
joejccva71

joejccva71

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
EOD K9 said:
I was on a DCL cruise two weeks ago and a gentleman had is Australian Poodle service dog with him. He was a veteran in a wheelchair and obviously wasn’t an issue. It irks me when I see people abusing the service animal rules. I’ve been a K9 handler for 15 years with two K9 partners and am about to get my third. I love dogs but I wouldn’t bring them with me for vacation. If I was on a road trip to see family, and stopped in Disney for one night, then that’s one thing. But for a whole vacation?.....absolutely not. Now, to play devil’s advocate for half a second, when I am at work, sometimes I let my dog just be a dog. That being said, is it possible that the dog in question is a service animal? Yes, but not probable.
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Good post. On your last statement though, if the dog in question is a service animal and is "off duty", shouldn't the owner remove the "Service Dog" vest and let him play? Is that technically a requirement or no?
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Most service dog schools have a strict requirement that dogs are not allowed to be off leash in an unfenced area. This is for the dogs well being and protection. However there are people who self train their service dogs and there are schools with more relaxed regulations regarding off leash play. Although service dogs are played with when off duty, those vests are usually removed so there is a difference in work time and play time but there are some who leave the vest on and just give a "release command" that lets the dog know they are temporarily off duty. But again not all service dog owners follow those rules. The vest the dog has on is a generic one., so it is unknown whether it is a real service dog or not.
 
T

thomas998

Well-Known Member
The Mom said:
I have never seen an "official" trained service dog play with it's vest still on. Vest on = on duty. Vest off = play, socializing time. A teacher at my children's school trained service dogs, and would bring them in to learn how to properly socialize. The children were taught when they could and could not pet them. I have also been in locations using trained LEO dogs - I could pet them before they had their vests on, while still in the van. Once they were on duty we ignored each other.

Emotional support dogs are different; I don't think they have as extensive a training.

It's possible it's a "real" service dog, but I'm suspicious.
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Unfortunately "emotional support animals" are more or less a creation of people that just want to game the system. Anyone can pay 69.95 online and get a legitimate looking certificate that your animal is a emotional support animals along with a vest, special tags and assorted junk. Frankly I am tempted to register my daughters as emotional support animals and see if I can get them on planes for free or take them into Disney for free so long as the wear the vest and stay on a leash.

The vest in the photo looks like one that they sell on ebay for 29.95 that comes with 50 ADA cards for the user to flick at anyone that dares to questions them when the support dog starts chomping on the shins of other patrons. I seriously doubt that is a real service dog. I've know people that had legitimate service dogs and none of them had vests with service on them, special collars so it was clear they were seeing eye dogs but no big bold messages proclaiming it to the world.

The whole ESA thing might have originated for a few people that really had the psychiatric problems that required a support animal, but it has snowballed into complete and utter nonsense. I've always wanted some investigators to look into some of the more outrageous folks that bring horses or pigs on planes, just to follow them around and see if they really do take these animal everywhere they go, to see if they ever actually visit a psychiatrist because if you are really to the point that you need your little horse with you 24/7 I would think you would be seeing a psychiatrist on a regular basis to try and work things out.
 
NYwdwfan

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
Interestingly enough, they sell "service dog" vests on Amazon.

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Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
LeighM said:
I saw a chihuahua sized dog with a little service animal vest on being pushed in a doggie stroller during our trip last month LOL. I don't think that one would qualify as a legit service dog either :)
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The chihuahua maybe, but I don't know about the stroller. There are legitimate service dogs that people use to detect the onset of seizures before they happen. That way the person can either take meds or get to a safe place (sit down, get out of a crowd, etc) before the seizure happens. Many of those dogs are not your typical retreiver / sherphard / poodle dogs. But in a stroller, that I don't know about.

I once worked with a blind lawyer (not Daredevil) who had a service dog. He would come to a meeting and the dog would lie down on the floor next to his chair, and you never knew the dog was there. Not a sound, never got up, never moved around, just laid there on the floor. No matter what was going on the room, people walking around, presentations, papers being passed around, the dog never moved. The dog could signal if it had to go to the bathroom, and he would then take it to a place where it could go.
 
LeighM

LeighM

Well-Known Member
Phonedave said:
The chihuahua maybe, but I don't know about the stroller. There are legitimate service dogs that people use to detect the onset of seizures before they happen. That way the person can either take meds or get to a safe place (sit down, get out of a crowd, etc) before the seizure happens. Many of those dogs are not your typical retreiver / sherphard / poodle dogs. But in a stroller, that I don't know about.

I once worked with a blind lawyer (not Daredevil) who had a service dog. He would come to a meeting and the dog would lie down on the floor next to his chair, and you never knew the dog was there. Not a sound, never got up, never moved around, just laid there on the floor. No matter what was going on the room, people walking around, presentations, papers being passed around, the dog never moved. The dog could signal if it had to go to the bathroom, and he would then take it to a place where it could go.
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It was less the size of the dog which put it's service function into question and more the enclosed stroller. I don't think the dog will easily be able to detect anything wrong with its owner by being in it's own little bubble stroller lol....
 
EOD K9

EOD K9

Well-Known Member
joejccva71 said:
Good post. On your last statement though, if the dog in question is a service animal and is "off duty", shouldn't the owner remove the "Service Dog" vest and let him play? Is that technically a requirement or no?
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Not knowing what the person's condition is, and if the play was for less than two minutes, I probably wouldn't remove it. If it was an extended period of time, then absolutely.
 
NormC

NormC

Well-Known Member
joejccva71 said:
Good post. On your last statement though, if the dog in question is a service animal and is "off duty", shouldn't the owner remove the "Service Dog" vest and let him play? Is that technically a requirement or no?
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Vests are optional and therefore meaningless. It used to be a good indicator of an "On Duty" dog but now they are meaningless because you can buy them online and put one on your emotional support pet. A service dog can play when allowed by its handler though.
 
joejccva71

joejccva71

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

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