“Service Dog” mistreatment at Kidani Villas

[ParkHoppers]

Not trying to sound insensitive but I remember a time when only the people who really needed service dogs had them. Like the blind. Todays world is way past ridiculous.

 

[upritbass]

Not trying to sound insensitive but I remember a time when only the people who really needed service dogs had them. Like the blind. Todays world is way past ridiculous.

Which specific sections of the ADA do you find ridiculous? You should contact your Representatives and Senators and tell them to change the law.

 

[chuff88]

Not trying to sound insensitive but I remember a time when only the people who really needed service dogs had them. Like the blind. Todays world is way past ridiculous.

Having a properly trained service animal requires an immense amount of money and/or time. It is highly unlikely that someone who doesn't need the services of a properly trained service dog is going to go through the effort required to obtain one. There are many reasons other than blindness that a person might benefit from having a properly trained service animal despite not having any sort of visible disability (diabetes alert animals and seizure alert animals being just two examples). What's ridiculous is that people exploit ADA service animal regulations to bring their untrained pets on vacation (or wherever) because they know that there's very little that any business can do to stop them.

 

[CBMom01]

We are starting service dog training now. It’s is financially out of reach for most people. There are organizations that sell dubious at-home training programs

I don’t assume people are trying to “game the system”. If service dogs are less than perfect in your eyes, they still may be performing the required service for their handler.

 

[sethschroeder]

I would have thought Disney at least would have checked in the room. If the room had a service dog attached to it, perhaps the person "needing" the dog was in peril.

If they never came to the room I would honestly be really upset.

So you are telling me they have to barge in my room daily for "safety checks" but they can't take 5 mins to check on an actual issue.

1) Animal left alone in a non-animal room
2) Animal yelping (if its a service dog could it not be trying to get help for its owner)
3) Noise issues as I suspect if you were blasting music that loud they would come in to the room and tell you to be quite

This was terribly handled by that management team and needs to be escalated to DVC management as well as Hotel management to address.

 

[sethschroeder]

I called the desk to report it

You were out there for a while did you ever see anyone ever go in the room from Disney?

 

[lanejudy]

If they never came to the room I would honestly be really upset.

It's just speculation by posters that WDW completely ignored the situation and never came to check. By OP's account, they first heard the dog "in the afternoon" and then went to dinner, returning around 9pm. Without further info, there definitely a window of time when OP doesn't know if WDW stopped by the room. Another post from OP indicates the situation lasted some 7 hours. I highly doubt any other guest was present the entire time, either. I would hope that the earliest reports (which may not have been from the OP) resulted in some type of check-in (though WDW doesn't do room-checks when a dog is present without the owner also being present), and by the time OP was calling to report there was nothing further WDW could do or could tell other guests. They'd confirmed the dog was supposedly a service animal and had made contact with the owners. There was no indication from OP that anyone requested a room change due to the noise complaint; that's about the only thing WDW could do for the other guests at that point.

Absent any further reports from the OP that this situation repeated itself on another day...my guess is the party was asked to leave (or it was their scheduled check-out anyway).

 

[supersnoop]

Did the issue persist for multiple days? I'd expect Disney to evict anyone who left a dog unattended in a DVC room. But they can't evict a dog when nobody is present. Unfortunately, we don't know what efforts Disney was making to contact the guests. We each will draw our own conclusions, but I'd like to imagine that Disney was making every effort to resolve the situation.

 

[J-Dog]

Having a properly trained service animal requires an immense amount of money and/or time. It is highly unlikely that someone who doesn't need the services of a properly trained service dog is going to go through the effort required to obtain one. There are many reasons other than blindness that a person might benefit from having a properly trained service animal despite not having any sort of visible disability (diabetes alert animals and seizure alert animals being just two examples). What's ridiculous is that people exploit ADA service animal regulations to bring their untrained pets on vacation (or wherever) because they know that there's very little that any business can do to stop them.

Disagree. As I stated earlier in this thread, just a few years ago, it was very common to just need a signature by a veterinarian in order to "certify" a service dog. As a veterinarian, I can tell you that I am in no way qualified to assess whether or not a service dog is adequately trained.

 

[supersnoop]

Disagree. As I stated earlier in this thread, just a few years ago, it was very common to just need a signature by a veterinarian in order to "certify" a service dog. As a veterinarian, I can tell you that I am in no way qualified to assess whether or not a service dog is adequately trained.

That's the problem; there is no actual "certification" for service dogs. A service dog is simply a dog (or miniature horse) that is trained to perform a specific function to accommodate a disability. No signature can make an untrained dog into a service animal.

You can get a signature (or "prescription") for an "Emotional Support Animal," but those are not protected by law and are not allowed in DVC rooms. Lots of people seem to confuse Emotional Support Animals with Service Dogs.

The ADA definition also requires the animal to be under the control of the handler, so an animal left alone in a room does not meet the definition of a service animal.

 

[lanejudy]

I am a DVM. About 4 or 5 years ago, I was getting people at least once a month who would bring in a registration form to me to sign to register their animal as a "service animal".

As I stated earlier in this thread, just a few years ago, it was very common to just need a signature by a veterinarian in order to "certify" a service dog.

Your clients who wanted veterinarian signature were trying to pass off a pet as a service animal. There is not now, nor has there ever been under the ADA, any official "certification" for a service animal. No paperwork, no vest, nothing required other than training.

I do thank you for not falling to this scheme and refusing to provide the signature such scammers requested of you.

 

[J-Dog]

Your clients who wanted veterinarian signature were trying to pass off a pet as a service animal. There is not now, nor has there ever been under the ADA, any official "certification" for a service animal. No paperwork, no vest, nothing required other than training.

I do thank you for not falling to this scheme and refusing to provide the signature such scammers requested of you.

Oh, it was definitely for a "certification". But I agree that it was probably the kind of certification more similar to an internet wedding officiant than it was to any kind of ADA certification.

 

[RoseGold]

I was just at AK and someone had a Rottweiler. I jerked my kid over so they wouldn't touch it. We had to have a whole discussion about dog breeds, fun. Maybe the Trailers at Fort Wilderness can fix this mess, and they can put all the dogs there.

 

[eandt]

I'm assuming you are a DVC member. I'd email member satisfaction and dig up the WDW service animal rules.

DVCMemberSatisfactionTeam@disneyvacationclub.com

I'd be very detailed with room numbers and times and all of that. You can dig up the floorplans and find the offending room number. DVC has a lot of power if they want to use it. They can nail them, for example, for carpet damage.

DVC is much more responsive if you ask for followup or you keep following up.

I would have kept calling the front desk and asking for security. Heck, I'd report it as a child in distress if it sounded like that. I would have been much, much more annoying to the front desk than you were. Heck, probably would have marched down there in person until I got a manager, which isn't something I say often, if ever.

This is why I will likely never stay in the trailers. I can't stand people mistreating animals, or animals making noise in general even when well-treated.

If this were a true service dog acting in this manner as management or law enforcement I would be very concerned with the well being of the owner and would have entered the room to check on his or her welfare. After not finding the owner in the room (apparently) I would have called animal control to remove the dog to a safe location. When the owner reappeared he/she too would be removed to a safe location for breaking the rules. I for one am sick of seeing non service animals in stores, restaurants, hotels etc its ludicrous. Nobody in management ever says anything, where will they finally draw the line? Service/Emotional support goat? Snake? Chicken? Come on man!

 

[Fitzwoman27]

I was just at AK and someone had a Rottweiler. I jerked my kid over so they wouldn't touch it. We had to have a whole discussion about dog breeds, fun. Maybe the Trailers at Fort Wilderness can fix this mess, and they can put all the dogs there.

My husband had a Doberman as his service dog due to a TBI. A well trained service dog is fully in work mode and not there to be a problem for your children, nor there to interact with your children. It’s not the breed that‘s ever the problem but it’s the training or really lack of.

 

[ParkHoppers]

That's the problem; there is no actual "certification" for service dogs. A service dog is simply a dog (or miniature horse) that is trained to perform a specific function to accommodate a disability. No signature can make an untrained dog into a service animal.

You can get a signature (or "prescription") for an "Emotional Support Animal," but those are not protected by law and are not allowed in DVC rooms. Lots of people seem to confuse Emotional Support Animals with Service Dogs.

The ADA definition also requires the animal to be under the control of the handler, so an animal left alone in a room does not meet the definition of a service animal.

It’s not that people confuse Emotional Support Animals with Service dogs. It is that most of the people I see have the same or similar vest on their dog that a true service animal would wear. Based on the behavior I witness with the dog people are clearly trying to game the system and that makes people who need an actual service dog look bad. At this point in history people in this country try to take advantage as much as they can.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We had a nearly exact situation happen to us at Kidani about 4 years ago. Same thing - we contacted security, they came by and heard the barking, and said they couldn't do anything. The dog barked and yipped for 5-6 hours (at least - that's just what we heard). Finally, the people returned to their room around midnight. I'm not an expert on service dogs and who wants/needs them. I know they must provide a very valuable service to people who need them. But a dog left in a room alone for hours upon hours isn't providing any kind of service for anyone - so how much did the owner actually need them? Or in our case, how much money were they saving by not putting them in a kennel for a few nights while they enjoyed WDW? It truly sets a bad precedent for the people who take so much time, money, and effort to train their service pets to help with their quality of life. You can tell the well-trained, serious service animals - the ones who don't look to jump up, or look to be petted by strangers in an elevator, or don't bother with loud kids - they're working animals on the job.

 

[chuff88]

My husband had a Doberman as his service dog due to a TBI. A well trained service dog is fully in work mode and not there to be a problem for your children, nor there to interact with your children. It’s not the breed that‘s ever the problem but it’s the training or really lack of.

I'm glad you said this, because just because a dog is a Rottweiler doesn't mean it isn't also a trained service animal. Rottweilers (like Dobermans) are very intelligent and have gotten a bad rap.

And regardless of breed, no one should ever be touching an unfamiliar dog without the owner/handler's permission. Especially service dogs. A trained service animal in public is working and should not be distracted from its job.

 

[J-Dog]

It’s not that people confuse Emotional Support Animals with Service dogs. It is that most of the people I see have the same or similar vest on their dog that a true service animal would wear. Based on the behavior I witness with the dog people are clearly trying to game the system and that makes people who need an actual service dog look bad. At this point in history people in this country try to take advantage as much as they can.

You mean like this:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42880690

 

[jo-jo]

We are starting service dog training now. It’s is financially out of reach for most people. There are organizations that sell dubious at-home training programs

I don’t assume people are trying to “game the system”. If service dogs are less than perfect in your eyes, they still may be performing the required service for their handler.

Are you training a dog for someone else ? just curios how it’s done, how long,etc. I can’t get my grandkids to sit for five mins, how does one teach a dog to open a door or pick up something.