Emotional Support Dog

[Lilsia]

Yeah, it's been the official policy that four resorts will accept dogs, with certain conditions, for about the lazt eighteen months. No need to lie about the dog.

If they claim that it is a service animal then they don't have to pay the pet fee. I imagine some people do this. I am glad that Disney is trying to put people on notice that emotional support animals are not service animals. But with the laws now, anyone can lie.

 

[OurBigTrip]

If they claim that it is a service animal then they don't have to pay the pet fee. I imagine some people do this. I am glad that Disney is trying to put people on notice that emotional support animals are not service animals. But with the laws now, anyone can lie.

True, but I think far fewer people would lie if businesses actually bothered to ask what the service dog is trained to do. People who are abusing the rules by bringing pets and ESAs would likely be thrown off by actually having to come up with a specific task the dog is trained to do.

 

[Lilsia]

True, but I think far fewer people would lie if businesses actually bothered to ask what the service dog is trained to do. People who are abusing the rules by bringing pets and ESAs would likely be thrown off by actually having to come up with a specific task the dog is trained to do.

Businesses don't want to deal with crazy customers. We have asked at our location, which is our legal right, and people fly off the handle and start getting defensive. I imagine it is to throw off the business because they know they are in the wrong. The last thing any business wants to do is have a person screaming and yelling that they have a service dog and are being discriminated against. It happens more then people think. Someone who tries to bring in their support dog knowing they are not allowed is already not right in the head and have no problem or shame creating a scene.

 

[paisleys]

Businesses don't want to deal with crazy customers. We have asked at our location, which is our legal right, and people fly off the handle and start getting defensive. I imagine it is to throw off the business because they know they are in the wrong. The last thing any business wants to do is have a person screaming and yelling that they have a service dog and are being discriminated against. It happens more then people think. Someone who tries to bring in their support dog knowing they are not allowed is already not right in the head and have no problem or shame creating a scene.

Someone just publicly smeared a local family owned restaurant for this. Guessing it was an ESD and not a true service dog as they were so defensive about it. Service dog owners are probably ready to just answer the questions and move on with their lives.

 

[cmwade77]

I feel so sad for some of these dogs. I saw a woman at Hollywood Studios once with a tiny, cowering dog that looked completely stressed out. Another time two women in scooters with multiple dogs which made no sense. I LOVE dogs and would rather be around them more than people but I am glad there is a focus on cracking down on ESAs, also this will help the ones with actual service dogs. My dogs are safest (and happiest) at home rather than dragged out to Starbuck's etc.

While I would agree with you in general, there is also the possibility that the dog is nearing retirement. For example, a friend of mine realized during our last trip to Disney World that her service dog really does need to retire, as much as she hates that idea because he has done a world of good for her, but it is in the dog's best interest. Having been there, I could see how an onlooker might question if the dog was really a service dog, unfortunately we were in the middle of a trip where she needed his services, which he still provided, but you could tell he was having issues. At that point, what choices do you have? She needs his services and it isn't like she can magically get another service dog in the middle of the trip. And for right now, he works ok in normal every day life, but we all know the parks are a lot different environment. And his retirement will also be sad for him, as he truly seems to enjoy going to the parks and absolutely loves the Haunted Mansion. But my point is, you don't know if this person found themselves in a similar situation in the middle of their trip.

Now I also saw a youtube video where someone who had a legitimate service dog had another service dog try to attack her dog and bit her in the process of trying to physically get to her dog. In that case, the dog that bit should definitely be removed from the park and based on how they said security reacted, it sounded like they had issues with that service dog before, but never enough to remove them from the park, hopefully that gave them enough reason to do so, as service dogs should not be attacking other dogs or biting people.

 

[cmwade77]

If they claim that it is a service animal then they don't have to pay the pet fee. I imagine some people do this. I am glad that Disney is trying to put people on notice that emotional support animals are not service animals. But with the laws now, anyone can lie.

They can lie to a point, the reality is if the businesses would ask the questions they are allowed to and remove misbehaving "service dogs" (which is within their rights), especially when the bad behavior is not being corrected by the handler, we would see fewer fake service dogs around.

 

[cmwade77]

Businesses don't want to deal with crazy customers. We have asked at our location, which is our legal right, and people fly off the handle and start getting defensive. I imagine it is to throw off the business because they know they are in the wrong. The last thing any business wants to do is have a person screaming and yelling that they have a service dog and are being discriminated against. It happens more then people think. Someone who tries to bring in their support dog knowing they are not allowed is already not right in the head and have no problem or shame creating a scene.

And you quietly explain to them that emotional support animals are not allowed in your establishment and to please take the dog out or you will need to call for the authorities. Personally, I think if the dog is behaving themselves (or is being immediately corrected when they do misbehave, because they are still dogs and it happens with even the best trained dogs), then I probably wouldn't say anything. It when they start causing trouble that I would dig deeper if I were running a business.

Now, obviously places like Disney need to dig deeper to ensure the safety of all guests, which is why security is asking the questions every time (or is supposed to).

 

[cmwade77]

Someone just publicly smeared a local family owned restaurant for this. Guessing it was an ESD and not a true service dog as they were so defensive about it. Service dog owners are probably ready to just answer the questions and move on with their lives.

Exactly, legitimate service dog owners will know the laws and know the business is just trying to protect themselves and their guests from the fakes, which also protects the legitimate service dogs as well.

But on the other side of the coin, our friend who has a legitimate service dog was told not to bring him back to a local restaurant (that is now closed) because he left a piece of fur on the carpet where he was laying. They would make similar claims for all service dogs and people would mention it on Yelp and other reviews, which is my guess as to why they ended up shutting down, around here discriminating against someone with a disability in any shape or form isn't looked upon very kindly. So sometimes the public smearing is just and sometimes it isn't.

 

[DisneyOma]

Having been there, I could see how an onlooker might question if the dog was really a service dog, unfortunately we were in the middle of a trip where she needed his services, which he still provided, but you could tell he was having issues. At that point, what choices do you have? She needs his services and it isn't like she can magically get another service dog in the middle of the trip. And for right now, he works ok in normal every day life, but we all know the parks are a lot different environment. And his retirement will also be sad for him, as he truly seems to enjoy going to the parks and absolutely loves the Haunted Mansion. But my point is, you don't know if this person found themselves in a similar situation in the middle of their trip.

Easy solution - go home. What's more important - the welfare of another living being or a vacation?

 

[Lilsia]

And you quietly explain to them that emotional support animals are not allowed in your establishment and to please take the dog out or you will need to call for the authorities. Personally, I think if the dog is behaving themselves (or is being immediately corrected when they do misbehave, because they are still dogs and it happens with even the best trained dogs), then I probably wouldn't say anything. It when they start causing trouble that I would dig deeper if I were running a business.

Now, obviously places like Disney need to dig deeper to ensure the safety of all guests, which is why security is asking the questions every time (or is supposed to).

Hahaha you are under the impression that the general public are reasonable. If someone is going to act that way in the first place, telling them calmly to leave does zero. This is how it plays out, they make a big scene, you tell them to leave, they refuse, cops are called, they lie to the police and say that it is a service dog(they make some stuff up because these people know how to game the system) and the company gets cited and a bad rap. It is all nice in theory, but 30 year working with the public has taught me that people are just bat poopy crazy.