question about the chief dog officer rover

[benc42793]

I doubt someone will know the answer but where does Rover go to the bathroom on the ship? Also I'm curious if her handler is on a contract similar to other employees. Once her contract ends, does Rover get a new handler or would Rover go on a break from the ship until she returns. I assume it would be uncomfortable for Rover if she had a new handler if the other one's contract ends

[GJ_123]

There will be an area on the ship where dogs can go to the toilet, you quite often see therapets, guide dogs etc. onboard so every ship must have a designated area. No idea where though, maybe on a lower deck? I always wondered what the environment is like, would they set up area which is grass? 

No idea about the handler and how that would work.

[benc42793]

5 minutes ago, GJ_123 said:

There will be an area on the ship where dogs can go to the toilet, you quite often see therapets, guide dogs etc. onboard so every ship must have a designated area. No idea where though, maybe on a lower deck? I always wondered what the environment is like, would they set up area which is grass? 

No idea about the handler and how that would work.

Maybe she goes on the miniature golf course?? lol

[ScottD]

40 minutes ago, benc42793 said:

I doubt someone will know the answer but where does Rover go to the bathroom on the ship? Also I'm curious if her handler is on a contract similar to other employees. Once her contract ends, does Rover get a new handler or would Rover go on a break from the ship until she returns. I assume it would be uncomfortable for Rover if she had a new handler if the other one's contract ends

 

18 minutes ago, GJ_123 said:

There will be an area on the ship where dogs can go to the toilet, you quite often see therapets, guide dogs etc. onboard so every ship must have a designated area. No idea where though, maybe on a lower deck? I always wondered what the environment is like, would they set up area which is grass? 

No idea about the handler and how that would work.

On the Oasis class ships, they have a little area filled with mulch under the stairs behind the Aquatheater, on Deck 5. You can see it when you do a loop around the running track. 

[Riley]

On some smaller ships it's on deck 5 or 6, portside bow, under one of the bulwarks. Little (maybe 3x3) patch of fake grass but enough for business to be handled.

[RockerDom31]

Does Rover sleep in the handler's crew room? Does Rover have an on-board vet? Does Rover have her own name tag, ID card, etc. that gets scanned when em"bark"ing and disem"bark"ing?? (see what I did there haha). Is Rover counted as a "person" towards the capacity of a life boat? Does she have her own life jacket?

I have so many questions! In addition to the Captain's Q&A session, they should have Q&A about Rover!

Apologies for me geeking-out. My wife and I love dogs!

[smokeybandit]

Call me a "get off my lawn"-er, but I'm not a big fan of making a dog live on a ship. Dogs should have real grass to run around on. And actually run, not be a mascot every day.

[CGTLH]

3 minutes ago, RockerDom31 said:

Does Rover sleep in the handler's crew room? Does Rover have an on-board vet? Does Rover have her own name tag, ID card, etc. that gets scanned when em"bark"ing and disem"bark"ing?? (see what I did there haha). Is Rover counted as a "person" towards the capacity of a life boat? Does she have her own life jacket?

I have so many questions! In addition to the Captain's Q&A session, they should have Q&A about Rover!

Apologies for me geeking-out. My wife and I love dogs!

The blog has a write up of the Chief Dog Officer: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/01/18/i-take-care-of-dog-the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-being-the-chief-dog-officer-dream-job

 

Answer on where Rover sleeps: Speaking of sleeping, Rover sleeps with Hubble in her cabin.

[RockerDom31]

5 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

The blog has a write up of the Chief Dog Officer: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/01/18/i-take-care-of-dog-the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-being-the-chief-dog-officer-dream-job

 

Answer on where Rover sleeps: Speaking of sleeping, Rover sleeps with Hubble in her cabin.

Thanks for sharing - How did I possibly miss this article??

[jbrinkm]

We raise Seeing Eye puppies and they are expected to be able to "go" on command on a variety of surfaces, including concrete and bricks. Dogs can be happy and healthy in many different types of environments. 

[Geezer Of The Seas]

12 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Call me a "get off my lawn"-er, but I'm not a big fan of making a dog live on a ship. 

Have to agree, especially with a breed that has an affinity for water.

Capt Kate. McCue (Celebrity  Beyond)& Bug Naked OTOH........

 

[She Sails Away]

On 1/25/2024 at 7:04 AM, ScottD said:

 

On the Oasis class ships, they have a little area filled with mulch under the stairs behind the Aquatheater, on Deck 5. You can see it when you do a loop around the running track. 

And that is for dogs that come on the ship? I don't mean to derail the original topic but are dogs allowed on Oasis? Like, private pets? Or is it just for seeing animals, do you know?

 

I'm on Ascent right now and there is a person here with two small dogs that they take everywhere in a stroller. They are clearly not therapy dogs, just older floppy dogs that tend to sleep a lot. I was wondering the same things as the original poster.
 

 

[jbrinkm]

2 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

And that is for dogs that come on the ship? I don't mean to derail the original topic but are dogs allowed on Oasis? Like, private pets? Or is it just for seeing animals, do you know?

I'm on Ascent right now and there is a person here with two small dogs that they take everywhere in a stroller. They are clearly not therapy dogs, just older floppy dogs that tend to sleep a lot. I was wondering the same things as the original poster.

Service dogs are allowed, but yes, people take advantage. There are laws (HIPAA maybe? you don't have to disclose your medical need, I think might be the origin) about requiring proof for service animals and there are those who use that legitimate guideline as a loophole to bring their pets. Service animals are usually very well behaved and pets - not always. 

[smokeybandit]

The problem is there's no service dog license or any kind of formality to separate service dogs with pets.

[jbrinkm]

On 1/25/2024 at 1:11 PM, Geezer Of The Seas said:

Have to agree, especially with a breed that has an affinity for water.

Capt Kate. McCue (Celebrity  Beyond)& Bug Naked OTOH........

What funny is that we mostly raise retrievers (Goldens, Labs and crosses) for the Seeing Eye, but NONE of the dogs that we have raised liked water. Maybe if we had been getting them used to it all along, other than just baths, it might have been different, but we have to get them used to so many other things that swimming was never a priority. In the article, it does mention that they take her off on Coco Cay and that she's not quite used to the ocean yet but getting braver. 

On 1/25/2024 at 6:23 AM, benc42793 said:

I'm curious if her handler is on a contract similar to other employees. Once her contract ends, does Rover get a new handler or would Rover go on a break from the ship until she returns. I assume it would be uncomfortable for Rover if she had a new handler if the other one's contract ends

IMO this is a bigger concern than living on a ship. Our pups that we raise are with us for about a year, then go back to the Seeing Eye for their training, and before they are matched with a forever person, we go to watch them "work." We have to stay back almost a full block and stay downwind while their trainer shows off the skills they have acquired because the pups will get so thrown off by encountering their raisers and it sets them back. They do, however, get used to their trainer and then their partner person.