Service Monkey at Epcot

[DisOrBust]

I think that most of us agree here that "real" sevice animals are more then welcome and respected. IMHO its a disservice that there is no real certification and as result allows so many "fake" and poorly trained animals be taken avantage of. I don't get why in order to get my handicap sticker I have to have al etter from my doctor and when i get the sticker it has an experation date, and if I park in a HC spot without it I can get a $250 tickets . But, I can bring a monkey into Epcot just by saying it's a servce animal?

 

[wilkeliza]

I though helper monkeys are service animals? They are actually used for people who are paralyzed which by the pic
tures this women definitely was not.

From Wiki:
Helper monkey[edit]
A helper monkey is a type of assistance animal, similar to an assistance dog, that is specially trained to help people with quadriplegia, severe spinal cord injuries, or other mobility impairments.

Helper monkeys are usually trained in schools by private organizations, taking 7 years to train, and are able to serve 25–30 years (two to three times longer than a guide dog).[15]

After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with an individual needing assistance. Around the house, the monkeys assist in daily living by doing tasks including microwaving food, washing their human's face, and opening drink bottles.

Debbie Leahy, manager of captive wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States, argues that monkeys are not legitimate service animals and that their training sometimes involves abuse.[16]

People may train then for such but by US federal law they sre not recognized as such. Some states may also recognize them as service animals bit Florida does not. The only thing that must be legally allowed as a service animal is a trained dog or minature hourse (might have been a pony not sure of the difference).

 

[rteetz]

I think that most of us agree here that "real" sevice animals are more then welcome and respected. IMHO its a disservice that there is no real certification and as result allows so many "fake" and poorly trained animals be taken avantage of. I don't get why in order to get my handicap sticker I have to have al etter from my doctor and when i get the sticker it has an experation date, and if I park in a HC spot without it I can get a $250 tickets . But, I can bring a monkey into Epcot just by saying it's a servce animal?

Well by law Disney can't discriminate. You can't ask someone what their disability is, or many other specific pieces to the persons story.

 

[LadyD]

I think that most of us agree here that "real" sevice animals are more then welcome and respected. IMHO its a disservice that there is no real certification and as result allows so many "fake" and poorly trained animals be taken avantage of. I don't get why in order to get my handicap sticker I have to have al etter from my doctor and when i get the sticker it has an experation date, and if I park in a HC spot without it I can get a $250 tickets . But, I can bring a monkey into Epcot just by saying it's a servce animal?

In many states, and I think Florida is included in this, it is illegal to claim your animal is a service animal when it is not. In California, it is a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail for misrepresenting your pet as a service animal.

The state of florida only recognizes dogs and miniature horses as service animals, so the CMs would have been within their right asking the individual to leave the park.

Service animals provide such a wide range of functions, some that are incredibly specialized, that creating a central certification would be very difficult in terms of successful course completion for the animal.

Handicap stickers are a government provided and regulated item. Service animals are trained by private organizations and individuals. It would be really difficult and possibly quiet burdensome to regulate it from that aspect as well. I know service dogs can be an expensive acquisition, and depending on what kind of service animal you need, there is already more demand than available supply. Adding more regulations could just make them less accessible for the people who really need them and reduce the number of organizations/people willing to provide them.

Well by law Disney can't discriminate. You can't ask someone what their disability is, or many other specific pieces to the persons story.

But Disney is within their rights to ask what task the service animal is trained to perform and if the animal is being disruptive or dangerous, they can legally ask them to leave.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Maybe, I am too sensitive to this discussion being disabled myself.......I do not have the need of a Service Animal at this time. I am amazed at how many people believe it is their place to comment and judge without being informed. The laws do state dogs and mini horses for service animals. If Disney chooses to allow other assistance animals, isn't this the business of Disney and that individual??

I saw a woman holding onto a rather large fluffy cat at the escalator to the monorail at the Contemporary last year. The individual was having difficulties. To what? I don't know. Why? It wasn't any of my business is why. If she was next to me in line, I hope actually I know I would treat her like other people and chat with her if she wanted. Usually, a hello or what a beautiful cat,....what is her name? That cat ijust may be her bridge to interact with people.

In some ways, I am lucky I have a hidden disability. Well, not completely hidden if I use a DAS or Disabled Parking. I have heard comments. I have come close to lifting up my shirt to show all the scars and the outline of the devices along with all the medication that allow me to be somewhat stealth in my disability. My wife figured out why I was uncomfortable at the pools and presented me with a rash shirt on our last trip. It allowed me to enjoy stormalong bay once again.

a little more compassion...............

When that animal can potentially pass a deadly disease to me or my child, yes it is my business. Monkeys do not belong in close contact with large numbers of people.

 

[DisOrBust]

Handicap stickers are a government provided and regulated item. Service animals are trained by private organizations and individuals. It would be really difficult and possibly quiet burdensome to regulate it from that aspect as well. I know service dogs can be an expensive acquisition, and depending on what kind of service animal you need, there is already more demand than available supply. Adding more regulations could just make them less accessible for the people who really need them and reduce the number of organizations/people willing to provide them.

But don't you think some type of regulation would be helpful? There are numerous stories of people getting ripped off on service animals they have purchased and this would help. Plus create some type of standard. I can't bring my dog as a pet therapy Dog into our hospital unless it has passed a"good citizen" test. I am not positive but I believe that service dogs can only be trained by a non-profit organizations(not sure if this was always the case). Having worked for a nonprofit hospital I can tell you they are anything but non profit, its just semantics. Maybe if Service dogs were trained by for profit companies it would get better regulatied and standards. Just as you need a prescription for meds and have it fill by a pharmacist

It maybe illegal to bring in you pet as a fake service dog but really if you don't have any type of credentials needed it would really hard to be busted.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I am not positive but I believe that service dogs can only be trained by a non-profit organizations(not sure if this was always the case).

As mentioned previously:

According to the ADA: "People with disabilities have the right to train the dog themselves and are not required to use a professional service dog training program."

 

[wilkeliza]

But don't you think some type of regulation would be helpful? There are numerous stories of people getting ripped off on service animals they have purchased and this would help. Plus create some type of standard. I can't bring my dog as a pet therapy Dog into our hospital unless it has passed a"good citizen" test. I am not positive but I believe that service dogs can only be trained by a non-profit organizations(not sure if this was always the case). Having worked for a nonprofit hospital I can tell you they are anything but non profit, its just semantics. Maybe if Service dogs were trained by for profit companies it would get better regulatied and standards. Just as you need a prescription for meds and have it fill by a pharmacist

It maybe illegal to bring in you pet as a fake service dog but really if you don't have any type of credentials needed it would really hard to be busted.

While your thoughts are in the right place the real problem would be that to comply with the ADA it would be hard to maintain a government organization that would license and proctor good citizen tests for all the needed service dogs. Even if the cost was only $5 (I believe that is similar to the processing fee for placards) it would not cover the expense of a highly skilled trainer giving the good citizenship exam. I think even when you do AKC good citizenship at say Pet Co you have to go somewhere else to get the exam. So what would happen is either AKC would have to take the cost of providing good citizen exams for free and would have to have a consistent program all over the country to make it not a hardship or it would have to become federal funded and run and would end up with more federal spending (not necessarily a bad thing in this case) but also federal dog examiners who may not care if a dog is truly trained which would put fake service dogs in the same exact situation they would just have papers saying they are okay.

 

[PBB]

When that animal can potentially pass a deadly disease to me or my child, yes it is my business. Monkeys do not belong in close contact with large numbers of people.

If you don't like Disney's decision to allow this to happen then voice your concern and if they don't go your way......You can always leave. There is no reason to discuss it with disabled person it is Disney's Decision.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

If you don't like Disney's decision to allow this to happen then voice your concern and if they don't go your way......You can always leave. There is no reason to discuss it with disabled person it is Disney's Decision.

Sure there is. What they did isn't legal in the state of Florida because it's a public health threat.

 

[LadyD]

But don't you think some type of regulation would be helpful? There are numerous stories of people getting ripped off on service animals they have purchased and this would help. Plus create some type of standard. I can't bring my dog as a pet therapy Dog into our hospital unless it has passed a"good citizen" test. I am not positive but I believe that service dogs can only be trained by a non-profit organizations(not sure if this was always the case). Having worked for a nonprofit hospital I can tell you they are anything but non profit, its just semantics. Maybe if Service dogs were trained by for profit companies it would get better regulatied and standards. Just as you need a prescription for meds and have it fill by a pharmacist

It maybe illegal to bring in you pet as a fake service dog but really if you don't have any type of credentials needed it would really hard to be busted.

This issue with requiring service dogs pass the CGC is two-fold. There is not really an issue of poorly trained service dogs for individuals who have a disability and have protected access with their dog under ADA abusing the system and creating a widespread problem. The stories of people being ripped off on service animals is dwarfed by the number of people who try to pass their pet off as a service animal. Beyond that, any dog can take and pass the CGC. There would be no way to determine if the dog that passed the CGC was a service dog or not. Requiring they pass the CGC would not help with the real issue of people falsely representing their dog as a service dog when it is really a pet they just want to bring everywhere.

The point I was trying to make is if people and organizations that trained service animals were required to register with a government organization and register subsequent animals that graduated to providing assistance to an individual to a database with a license, it would be harder for people to fraudulently present their pet as a service animal. However, that creates a lot more red tape, and potentially a significant increase in cost, which is not needed at all.

 

[Geoff_M]

If you don't like Disney's decision to allow this to happen then voice your concern and if they don't go your way......You can always leave. There is no reason to discuss it with disabled person it is Disney's Decision.

You're making an assumption that the decision to allow the monkey into the park was an explicit one made on the part of park management instead of one made by a couple of security and gate CMs that didn't want to risk raising a fuss over questioning this "service animal." Maybe I missed it, but has Disney issued a statement after the media reports that states that there were cool with the monkey?

 

[PBB]

You're making an assumption that the decision to allow the monkey into the park was an explicit one made on the part of park management instead of one made by a couple of security and gate CMs that didn't want to risk raising a fuss over questioning this "service animal." Maybe I missed it, but has Disney issued a statement after the media reports that states that there were cool with the monkey?

Who hired,trains and supervises theses gate agents and security guards? Disney,Correct? I don't know about you,but, the last time I was at Epcot there were more than just a couple of security guards and gate agents. There are supervisors floating at the gates and when they can't handle things they point them towards Guest Services over to the right. People don't flow in and out freely at these points. I can promise there are plenty of cameras monitoring everything. As they traverse into the park,how many supervisors and managers do they pass?

We don't know even know if the person with the monkey is disabled or claimed to be disabled,correct? A blogger took four photos of a person with a monkey wearing a diaper on their shoulder standing in line to see Pluto. The blogger was the one who stated it was a Service Animal. The blogger also stated it was wearing a diaper and they had a stroller. Did anyone even consider, this person snuck the primate into the park pretending it was a child in a stroller?

Either way, I believe my comment stands.......if you don't like or your concerned about the actions of another guest express your concerns to a CM or a supervisor and let them decide how to proceed. Disney may not go the way you believe they should. At that point, you have to decide whether to stay or leave.

 

[Boski]

This issue with requiring service dogs pass the CGC is two-fold. There is not really an issue of poorly trained service dogs for individuals who have a disability and have protected access with their dog under ADA abusing the system and creating a widespread problem. The stories of people being ripped off on service animals is dwarfed by the number of people who try to pass their pet off as a service animal. Beyond that, any dog can take and pass the CGC. There would be no way to determine if the dog that passed the CGC was a service dog or not. Requiring they pass the CGC would not help with the real issue of people falsely representing their dog as a service dog when it is really a pet they just want to bring everywhere.

The point I was trying to make is if people and organizations that trained service animals were required to register with a government organization and register subsequent animals that graduated to providing assistance to an individual to a database with a license, it would be harder for people to fraudulently present their pet as a service animal. However, that creates a lot more red tape, and potentially a significant increase in cost, which is not needed at all.

Agreed. One of my dogs is AKC CGC, she is definitely not a service dog.

 

[Geoff_M]

Who hired,trains and supervises theses gate agents and security guards? Disney,Correct? I don't know about you,but, the last time I was at Epcot there were more than just a couple of security guards and gate agents. There are supervisors floating at the gates and when they can't handle things they point them towards Guest Services over to the right. People don't flow in and out freely at these points. I can promise there are plenty of cameras monitoring everything. As they traverse into the park,how many supervisors and managers do they pass?

That is all well and good, but you're still speculating on what you believe is likely to have happened. Life all too often teaches us that "unlikely" things will happen more than we expect. The bottom line is that no one, so far, knows exactly the circumstances that allowed the monkey into Epcot. Equally, no one knows the circumstances that the monkey left the park... whether it was when the owner decided to leave for the day, or if at some point Disney management approached the owner to ask her to remove the monkey due to their concerns. Additionally, I could also speculate that since the monkey was only reportedly seen one day in one park, and that's not how guests usually spend time at WDW outside of attending special events, that either the woman was unsuccessful at getting the critter into other the parks on other days or she decided to leave her monkey elsewhere. lastly, I must say on the issue of getting the monkey into the park, I cannot get the image out of my head of the gate CM letting her through and saying to a co-worker "Man, did you see the ugly baby that last lady had in her stroller!!!"

Either way, I believe my comment stands.......if you don't like or your concerned about the actions of another guest express your concerns to a CM or a supervisor and let them decide how to proceed. Disney may not go the way you believe they should. At that point, you have to decide whether to stay or leave.

I agree with your original statement, with the exception of the assumption that the monkey, undead or otherwise, was there with Disney's blessing.

 

[DisOrBust]

My DD is house fellow in her dorm. She just called my that one of fellow housefellows is getting a emotional support dog for anxiety.

It is a nine week old German Shepard that she pais $2,000 for. What "skill" does a 9 week old German Shepard have for anxiety. This poor animal will livei n a 12X12 dorm room that is a complete mess with a student who is gone all day.

This is cruel.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My DD is house fellow in her dorm. She just called my that one of fellow housefellows is getting a emotional support dog for anxiety.

It is a nine week old German Shepard that she pais $2,000 for. What "skill" does a 9 week old German Shepard have for anxiety. This poor animal will livei n a 12X12 dorm room that is a complete mess with a student who is gone all day.

This is cruel.

With all due respect you sound very judgemental on the situation.

There is real abuse of the whole emotional and service animal out there but it doesn't mean everyone is abusing the system. While the student may be they also may not be. Your daughter may also be hearing information from so and so or inferring things as well. Might be different if the student actually said "yeah I don't really need the dog I'm just saying I need the dog just so I can have a puppy in the dorm".

There is no age limit regarding emotional support animals. Certain states/cities, etc may have rules though regarding vaccinations and such based on age.

They do not need to possess a specific skill such as opening the fridge for a person who has a service animal. However they may be atuned to cues given off by a person such has tensing up or the way a person is talking, etc and are able to help calm them down.

Anxiety can be very crippling to a person please don't take it lightly. Many people with or without anxiety benefit from owning a dog and even a cat.

There are many owners and shelters who crate train their dogs. Those dogs may be in the crate for extended periods of time especially while the owner is away at work or school. And while I'm not going to go down a debate of crate vs not crate and have no interest in doing so just bringing that up since you brought up dorm room.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Who hired,trains and supervises theses gate agents and security guards? Disney,Correct? I don't know about you,but, the last time I was at Epcot there were more than just a couple of security guards and gate agents. There are supervisors floating at the gates and when they can't handle things they point them towards Guest Services over to the right. People don't flow in and out freely at these points. I can promise there are plenty of cameras monitoring everything. As they traverse into the park,how many supervisors and managers do they pass?

We don't know even know if the person with the monkey is disabled or claimed to be disabled,correct? A blogger took four photos of a person with a monkey wearing a diaper on their shoulder standing in line to see Pluto. The blogger was the one who stated it was a Service Animal. The blogger also stated it was wearing a diaper and they had a stroller. Did anyone even consider, this person snuck the primate into the park pretending it was a child in a stroller?

Either way, I believe my comment stands.......if you don't like or your concerned about the actions of another guest express your concerns to a CM or a supervisor and let them decide how to proceed. Disney may not go the way you believe they should. At that point, you have to decide whether to stay or leave.

I am now realizing that you dint understand what I was saying at all. I responded to a poster who said someone's animal was none of anyone else business. I said it is when it puts me or my child at risk for a deadly disease. I in no way said I would confront that person about it. If I was there I would have pointed it out to disney security, and if they didn't handle it call the athorities because it is illegal in the state of Florida to have such a monkey in a public place. Owning one requires specialized permitting and an agreement not to expose the public.

 

[PBB]

My DD is house fellow in her dorm. She just called my that one of fellow housefellows is getting a emotional support dog for anxiety.

It is a nine week old German Shepard that she pais $2,000 for. What "skill" does a 9 week old German Shepard have for anxiety. This poor animal will livei n a 12X12 dorm room that is a complete mess with a student who is gone all day.

This is cruel.

I realize the young lady isn't doing this, however, it is not uncommon for students to become "Puppy Raiser" for future service dogs. A young lady,who as a child, watched my Golden Retriever when went away on vacation raised a Labrador Retriever while at UGA. As it turned out, the dog flunked out because he had allergies.

I feel for the young lady that is having those type of issues at college. Maybe, the German Shepherd will give her a purpose and structure.........let me rephrase that German Shepherd will make her have a purpose and structure. My son rescued a pure bred GSD from the pound. Who was sick with heart worms thankfully he got through all the treatments. He is a very brilliant boy!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

According to the ADA: "People with disabilities have the right to train the dog themselves and are not required to use a professional service dog training program."

The ADA also states: "Covered entities may not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal, as a condition for entry."

JMHO: Seems unsafe not to have standards and require certification that can be produced if requested by a business. This strikes me as one of the places where the ADA and associated regulations have run amok.

The point I was trying to make is if people and organizations that trained service animals were required to register with a government organization and register subsequent animals that graduated to providing assistance to an individual to a database with a license, it would be harder for people to fraudulently present their pet as a service animal. However, that creates a lot more red tape, and potentially a significant increase in cost, which is not needed at all.

I am NOT a fan of the immense amounts of red tape out there! This seems like a place where it might be warranted. Again, JMHO.