Dogs in the parks

[LRMD]

There was a beautiful service dog in the shop at Port Orleans French Quarter too.

[travelgirl]

Yesterday we were in the bag check queue at EPCOT and in front of us was a senior couple with a small white dog in a Stroller with a label saying support dog,really,it’s getting ridiculous a small waffly dog in a pushchair what’s that about. We have even seen a ferret on a lead. Political correctness gone crazy.

[vampiress88]

Originally Posted by travelgirl

Yesterday we were in the bag check queue at EPCOT and in front of us was a senior couple with a small white dog in a Stroller with a label saying support dog,really,it’s getting ridiculous a small waffly dog in a pushchair what’s that about. We have even seen a ferret on a lead. Political correctness gone crazy.

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I cannot understand what “support” a dog in a pram can give.
My aunt has a guide dog. She’s nearly blind. So I understand completely. She’s part of a support dog group and they have lots of uses. From being able to get cash out to fetching them things when they can’t move etc.

But a dog in a pram. Surely that has to be more of you looking after the dog than the dog there to help you out.

Suport for emotional I do get but I didn’t think you could take them Disney

Things do seem to go on and on lately with everyone jumping on one band wagon or another.

[Laura_<3]

We commented that there were so many dogs in the parks this year. Dogs on leads, dogs in prams, dogs in bags.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by vampiress88

I cannot understand what “support” a dog in a pram can give.

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Taken from the link I included in an earlier post:

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.

Service animals don't just guide people who are blind. It's any task that assists a person with a disability. It is not limited to continuous tasks (the task might happen infrequently) and not limited to visible disabilities. So it includes things like alerting individuals who are hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine, helping individuals with psychiatric and neurological disabilities, etc, etc.

Originally Posted by travelgirl

We have even seen a ferret on a lead.

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In the USA, only dogs and miniature horses can be legally defined as service animals. Therefore ferrets should not be allowed in the parks (unless Disney has a rule allowing them).

[Posiesmum]

We saw a support dog on the boat across the lake in Epcot in October. He was a little Westie and we spent a long time chatting to his owner. The dog was an emotional support dog and the guy he supported was an ex soldier. The dog was lovely and impeccably behaved. I don’t have any issues with it.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Posiesmum

We saw a support dog on the boat across the lake in Epcot in October. He was a little Westie and we spent a long time chatting to his owner. The dog was an emotional support dog and the guy he supported was an ex soldier. The dog was lovely and impeccably behaved. I don’t have any issues with it.

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Just to clarify, as per Disney's rules (see the fifth post in this thread), emotional support dogs are not allowed in the Disney parks. Only service animals are allowed.

If the dog was an emotional support dog then he shouldn't have been in Epcot.

(BTW, I don't have any issues with it either - I'm just quoting Disney's policy)

[Posiesmum]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

Just to clarify, as per Disney's rules (see the fifth post in this thread), emotional support dogs are not allowed in the Disney parks. Only service animals are allowed.

If the dog was an emotional support dog then he shouldn't have been in Epcot.

(BTW, I don't have any issues with it either - I'm just quoting Disney's policy)

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I think the guy said he was diabetic, so it may have been something to do with that? The dog was wearing a special harness, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it said! It was a lovely dog though.

[vampiress88]

hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine, helping individuals with psychiatric and neurological disabilities, etc, etc.

Understand all that. Still don’t get why the dog was in a pram tho rather than walking on a lead. Surely it cannot perform its job correctly whilst it’s in the pram.

[vampiress88]

Service Dogs Basic Tasks
Answers when someone’s at the door by pulling a lever.
Brings or retrieves stuff to its owner, such as the mail, medicine bottles or any other items.
Barks, summons or alerts someone in the other room, for the owner who cannot get to them.
Helps his owner get around, or get up from his seat, or climb the stairs at the home or in public establishments.
Be his owner’s steady support, in case he experiences an imbalance while doing activities.
Carries medicine and other provisions for his owner in a specialized back pack.
Service Dogs Tasks During Emergencies
Brings the phone to his owner to call 911 or a relative.
Knows how to bark at a speaker phone to signal for emergency.
Interrupts or tags its owner during a trigger or psychiatric occurrence.
Alerts other people when its owner is in distress.
Leads other people to its owner, who could already be down on the floor after an episode or a suicide attempt, especially in cases of depression and mood disorders.
Alert its owner in cases of fire or burglary attempts.
Psychiatric Service Dog Services
Psychiatric service dogs provide assistance to people with mental health disabilities navigate through life. Similar to other service dogs, psychiatric service dogs are trained to assist their handlers by performing these tasks:
Guide a disoriented handler – for people on medications or in the middle of a disassociated
Provide tactile stimulation for anxiety attacks, panic attacks, etc.
Identify hallucinations – for people who experience hallucinations
Search a room – for people with PTSD who are hyper-vigilant
Interrupt and redirect – for people with OCD who may self harm themselves

Still failing to see how the dog can perform “in a pram”
That really is the bit I don’t get.