Dog days at Epcot...literally?

I used to work at a hospital in the midwest, and once we had a patient who wanted her pet dog with her. Of course, the hospital said no, even though she argued it was an "emotional support" animal. But it had no training, and she had no diagnosis that warranted a certified support animal. It was literally her pet.

Anyway, after she was released, she sued the hospital and won. And as part of the judgement, we had to create and require training for the entire staff on support animals, and this training was provided by the ADA. And, of course, in the training, it specifically stated that emotional support animals should be certified and that the owner should have a diagnosis! So, the training that we were mandated to undergo basically upheld our own policy.

People will go to all lengths to abuse that law.

azcavalier;2522937 wrote: I used to work at a hospital in the midwest, and once we had a patient who wanted her pet dog with her. Of course, the hospital said no, even though she argued it was an "emotional support" animal. But it had no training, and she had no diagnosis that warranted a certified support animal. It was literally her pet.

Anyway, after she was released, she sued the hospital and won. And as part of the judgement, we had to create and require training for the entire staff on support animals, and this training was provided by the ADA. And, of course, in the training, it specifically stated that emotional support animals should be certified and that the owner should have a diagnosis! So, the training that we were mandated to undergo basically upheld our own policy.

People will go to all lengths to abuse that law.

Yeah, just a pain dealing w/ the masses pet wishes. I don't really want to deal w/ all the folks at the park,let alone their pets. I hate pet day at the office. Too many issues. Too much bio material.

I have seen those poodles at MK. The people that bring them have had arguments with Disney about them being in the parks. They are there a lot. But with the emotional support training label put on them- I don’t think Disney has been able to get the group not to bring them into the parks.

Have you been in a Walmart lately? Lots of people bring dogs in. I hate it when people bring dogs in and they are in the shopping carts. Gross. Home Depot allows dogs in the store and that doesn’t bother me. No food so seems fine.

Being local and having two dogs, both not suitable as service dogs. One is 4 and obnoxious, the other is older and a couch potato. We keep them home in the A/C. They are more comfortable at home and not out in the Florida heat. They are our "home" ESA. They are happy at home.

njespers;2522371 wrote: Yep. I don’t doubt the legitimacy of “unseen” challenges, but I have personal experience with an instance where a person straight out said they just wanted their pet with them and managed to get an official to certify that the dog was a service dog. This was pure abuse, and I’m certain it’s not an isolated case.

This is upsetting because there may be people with legitimate needs that either have the privilege taken away or have people look at them wrongly because others abuse the system.

On a different note, Lowe’s near my house allows dogs in for any reason. My son is petrified of dogs. Irrational fear. He is only 9 and when he sees a dog at Lowe’s he freaks out. Sometimes that freaks out the dog,

This is because disney is struggling to figure out the dog issue (along w/ many other businesses) where legislatures have failed to fix through legislation, certification, licensing, whatever.

I love my dog, but, some people are just too in love w/ their animals.

Regardless, I'm bringing my pet rock to WDW next time. His name is Herbie.

When I was an AP at Disneyland I've see a group of poodles that would always be wearing outfits complete with Mickey ears. They were service dogs, but I always found their outfits so over the top that it made me wonder why their owner would make them SO distracting looking, yet didn't want anyone to pet them...

It must be a dog person thing... I can't ever imagine bringing my cat to WDW! She wouldn't know if she should run from Mickey or attack him! :cat:

MrPeetrie;2523136 wrote: This is upsetting because there may be people with legitimate needs that either have the privilege taken away or have people look at them wrongly because others abuse the system.

On a different note, Lowe’s near my house allows dogs in for any reason. My son is petrified of dogs. Irrational fear. He is only 9 and when he sees a dog at Lowe’s he freaks out. Sometimes that freaks out the dog,

^^^^ this, is exactly what I always think about, along with severe allergy reactions.

Giggy;2523155 wrote: It must be a dog person thing... I can't ever imagine bringing my cat to WDW! She wouldn't know if she should run from Mickey or attack him! :cat:

Get one of those space backpacks for cats.