skye

Okay, I know I'm gonna get hate for this. However I must make a few points very clear: Four on the floor is a guideline, not a law. there are tasks that require the dog to be carried or in the handlers lap to perform their task. It seems that many of the small dogs seen were with older people, many of whom may have been diabetic or have another similar disability. these small dogs are specially trained to smell glucose on their owners breath. i am not saying that this is true of every dog, however this is the most likely cause. these dogs will not be seen eating from the table or licking silverware etc. but rather calmly sitting under the table in their owners lap. Not all dogs are for PHYSICAL/ STABILITY tasks. I cant believe i have to say that in this thread. Psychiatric tasks are just as common and just as necessary. Many of you have stated you would not take your PETS onto a cruise. This is as it should be. PETS are not trained service animals and should not be in locations that are service animals only. SERVICE DOGS are specially trained to handle many environments that pets would not do well in. they are trained to handle new situations, and they have a much higher level of protocol. Service dogs are generally the best groomed dogs out there, short of maybe show dogs. We as handlers do everything we can to minimize risk of setting off allergies of others. If a dog is having regular accidents in the cabin, that is not a service dog and that is the responsibility of the cruise staff to deal with, not the passengers. You don't balk at the idea of having a bathroom for yourself, leave the service dogs' tiny patches of mulch alone. they are there to fulfill a need. Often you wont even know where they are unless you have a service dog. https://www.psychdogpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/PSDPflyer2015.pdf https://www.psychdogpartners.org/allergies-fears https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf https://www.psychdogpartners.org/resources/work-tasks/work-task-list https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm https://www.psychdogpartners.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions/laws i could give more links but if this doesn't satisfy the questions, not including those from owners of ACTUAL SERVICE DOGS, maybe you should look to vent elsewhere.

some small breeds are used for glucose monitoring and have to be carried to allow them to do their jobs