Cruising With A Service Dog....everything You Ever Wanted To Know!

[wizard-of-roz]

From my CCI email group:

 

Nylabone Puppy Chew Starter Kits have been recalled because of possible salmonella contamination.

 

Please DON'T give your puppy or adult dogs Nylabones..........they're very difficult to chew and can cause splintering of the teeth and if ingested may cause abdominal bleeding and other stomach issues!

 

A great alternative for their teeth and gums is CET Virbach chews. I buy them from EntirelyPets.com. Brenda and now Horton love them and they're great for their teeth, breath and gums.

Edited April 27, 2015 by wizard-of-roz

[Quampapetet]

We had one dog in our neighborhood - or really the next street over that would always show up at either our house or the house across the street. This happened ALL the time.

 

Finally the house across the street asked if they could just have the dog since he was there all the time. The owner agreed as they knew they weren't taking proper care of him. It ended up being a win for the dog, as we can see he's very well taken care of and has become a part of their family.

 

Why get a dog if you aren't going to take care of him/her?

 

Glad the dog is happier now! I agree with not getting a dog if you are not going to properly care for it, which includes keeping it out of harm's way by not letting it be at large.

[fairbourne]

Hello everyone - nothing much happening here, Aruba continues to be a wonderful, loving girl and apart from a couple of "wotevvverrrr" teenage moments, she's doing well!

 

Hope everyone is ok too. :).

[thephantomsgirl]

Hello everyone - nothing much happening here, Aruba continues to be a wonderful, loving girl and apart from a couple of "wotevvverrrr" teenage moments, she's doing well!

 

 

Ha ha - I can just see that. :)

 

Jagger has those moments too. I think it might make us adore them more though.

 

Yesterday my BIL and I took his dog Charlie out to the ranch to meet Jagger. Charlie also can be a bit stubborn and the director said she'd work with him a bit. I call her the dog whisperer as after just a few moments he was walking around on a leash like a perfect young man. (Charlie, not my BIL :rolleyes: )

 

It took a few moments for Charlie to relax around the dogs but he did quite well. Jagger got to sniff his butt, but Charlie declined the honor of sniffing Jagger until later on.

 

It was funny to my mind as at home, Charlie looks so big compared to our little poodle/shih tzu mix dog Bear. But compared to the Goldens and Yellow Lab he met, he looked tiny!

 

I'll take Charlie out a few times and get him used to Jagger and being around other dogs more often. That way it'll be easier when Jagger comes home to live with us.

 

How's everyone else doing? Any cruises coming up?

[wizard-of-roz]

Hello everyone - nothing much happening here, Aruba continues to be a wonderful, loving girl and apart from a couple of "wotevvverrrr" teenage moments, she's doing well!

 

Hope everyone is ok too. :).

 

Hello Fairbourne and family, glad to hear that you're all doing well.

 

I'm back into the work routine and getting ready for our Golf Tournament on the 13th.

 

Horton celebrated his 6th Birthday yesterday and enjoyed his peanut butter, rice cake birthday cake. He still acts like a puppy and is the most wonderful working dog in the whole world!!!!

[wizard-of-roz]

Ha ha - I can just see that. :)

 

Jagger has those moments too. I think it might make us adore them more though.

 

Yesterday my BIL and I took his dog Charlie out to the ranch to meet Jagger. Charlie also can be a bit stubborn and the director said she'd work with him a bit. I call her the dog whisperer as after just a few moments he was walking around on a leash like a perfect young man. (Charlie, not my BIL :rolleyes: )

 

It took a few moments for Charlie to relax around the dogs but he did quite well. Jagger got to sniff his butt, but Charlie declined the honor of sniffing Jagger until later on.

 

It was funny to my mind as at home, Charlie looks so big compared to our little poodle/shih tzu mix dog Bear. But compared to the Goldens and Yellow Lab he met, he looked tiny!

 

I'll take Charlie out a few times and get him used to Jagger and being around other dogs more often. That way it'll be easier when Jagger comes home to live with us.

 

How's everyone else doing? Any cruises coming up?

 

I love how each dog has his very own, unique personality. They may all look very similar but they each see life in their very own way, just like people!

 

I'm taking my daughter and two granddaughters on the Carnival Miracle on June 20th.

 

Carnival for them.......rest for me! ;)

[Host Walt]

I love how each dog has his very own, unique personality. They may all look very similar but they each see life in their very own way, just like people!...

Roz,

 

Time to comment.

 

Why do we love our two mini schnauzers? Because as you say they look similar but have totally different (unique) personalities like people, but thank goodness that's where the comparison stops.

 

The two pooches are loving and giving and, the best part, they aren't duplicitous, nasty, or any other negative characteristics of humans.

 

Welcome back home and welcome back to this wonderful thread.

 

Walt

[CruiseMom87]

Hi everyone! I'm back! I've posted a couple of times and I got several helpful responses. I had asked about documents needed for traveling with my dog to the Bahamas.

I was given the advice that I needed an import form on top of shot records and USDA health certificate.

My travel agent just called me today and told me that all I needed to travel with my Guide, is 1 year rabies proof, USDA approved health certificate, ID for me and my Guide, and that Carnival has a form that I need to fill out ahead of time and sendBack. She is sending that form to me as soon as she gets it.

 

Does this seem correct? I specifically asked about an import form or if I needed to contact the Bahamas ahead of time for any reason and she said no. I hate to ask the same question repeatedly, I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Thank you all for your help!!! 😊

[Quampapetet]

Hello Fairbourne and family, glad to hear that you're all doing well.

 

I'm back into the work routine and getting ready for our Golf Tournament on the 13th.

 

Horton celebrated his 6th Birthday yesterday and enjoyed his peanut butter, rice cake birthday cake. He still acts like a puppy and is the most wonderful working dog in the whole world!!!!

 

Horton is six already?!?! :eek: Where has the time gone?!

 

I hope he got something good for his birthday! :D

[Quampapetet]

Hi everyone! I'm back! I've posted a couple of times and I got several helpful responses. I had asked about documents needed for traveling with my dog to the Bahamas.

I was given the advice that I needed an import form on top of shot records and USDA health certificate.

My travel agent just called me today and told me that all I needed to travel with my Guide, is 1 year rabies proof, USDA approved health certificate, ID for me and my Guide, and that Carnival has a form that I need to fill out ahead of time and sendBack. She is sending that form to me as soon as she gets it.

 

Does this seem correct? I specifically asked about an import form or if I needed to contact the Bahamas ahead of time for any reason and she said no. I hate to ask the same question repeatedly, I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Thank you all for your help!!!

 

Your agent is wrong and if you follow her advice, your dog will NOT be allowed off the ship! It happened to someone recently who failed to research the requirements for the Bahamas (and then stupidly blamed the cruise line instead of herself - and cried to the media about it). I go to the Bahamas every year on land trips, so do it a lot.

 

You need to send for the Bahamas import permit - please be sure to write "service dog" on it so they know why you're not including the fee (service dogs are exempt from the $10 import permit fee)! It can take up to three months (sometimes longer) to get the import permit mailed back to you, so if your cruise is soon, you will need to have them fax it to you - and you will want to call them to be sure they do it in time.

 

When you go to get the international health certificate (from a USDA-approved vet), you need to bring the import permit with you because your vet needs to fill out the second page in regards to your dog's microchip number and health status. The first page lists all the requirements (required vaccinations et al - titers are accepted), but for a cruise, you don't need to see a vet in the Bahamas within 48 hours of arrival since you're there for shorter than that. You need to obtain your international health certificate before your trip within 48 hours of your departure from home. You do not need to have the health certificate endorsed by the USDA regional office.

 

The three-year rabies is accepted; you do NOT need to revaccinate with the one-year vaccine! (Do be sure your vaccine is still valid enough and if you need to revaccinate, you do it more than thirty days before the trip, of course.)

 

You don't have to have an ID for your dog; access to cruise ships leaving from the US is no different than access to any other business in the US. (For yourself you need a passport or birth certificate and ID, of course - everyone needs that.) Yes, Carnival has a firm you need to fill out about what your needs are for reasonable accommodations. I do recommend bringing your dog's rabies certificate with you just in case - one time, I didn't notice that my vet forgot to state on the health certificate that the rabies was the three-year vaccine and we were in the second year of it, but thankfully I had the rabies certificate with me, so the issue was immediately resolved without the need for any international phone calls to my vet back home.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Quampapetet

[Quampapetet]

The application for the Bahamas import permit: https://forms.bahamas.gov.bs/documents/AGRI_Application%20to%20import%20Domestic%20Animals.pdf

[thephantomsgirl]

 

Mama Holly and I did real well at Rally tonight. I'm really getting this stuff down. I'm so happy we did good, my new Mama is so proud of me!

[thephantomsgirl]

I hope you all will excuse my posting of photos so often. I am so overwhelmed with love for this dog, and so grateful to the organization that is making this all possible.

 

Although it will be a little while before he comes to live with me, I get to see him once or twice a week, sometimes more. I feel so lucky. It is amazing how fast one can bond with our partners. I am so happy I feel like crying. (in a good way) I know you all understand.

 

Thank you to all the puppy walkers and trainers that make this all possible. I am so grateful!

 

Don't mind me....I am just so in awe of the looks he gives me.

[Insuregal]

I hope you all will excuse my posting of photos so often. I am so overwhelmed with love for this dog, and so grateful to the organization that is making this all possible.

 

Although it will be a little while before he comes to live with me, I get to see him once or twice a week, sometimes more. I feel so lucky. It is amazing how fast one can bond with our partners. I am so happy I feel like crying. (in a good way) I know you all understand.

 

Thank you to all the puppy walkers and trainers that make this all possible. I am so grateful!

 

Don't mind me....I am just so in awe of the looks he gives me.

 

Holly, we love pictures of our furry friends almost as much as we love the real thing. So post away! None of us will ever get tired of pictures.

 

Thanks for sharing your journey with us!

 

Beckie

[Caribbean Chris]

LOVE the latest photo of Jagger, Holly, and all of them! He's such a lovie. As Beckie said, keep them coming.

 

(Now I need to "walk the walk" myself...Maybe I'll get inspired today to post a couple from our recent cruise.)

[Caribbean Chris]

I don't know why people don't take better care of their dogs - wouldn't your neighbor be upset if the dog was hit by a car?! I hope that doesn't happen!

 

Update...Raylene and I noticed on our walks this week that the lawn around the tiny Terrorista (Poodle)'s house has lots of white marker flags, which I'm guessing is a new "invisible fence" collar system.

[thephantomsgirl]

(Now I need to "walk the walk" myself...Maybe I'll get inspired today to post a couple from our recent cruise.)

 

Yes please! I so love seeing all of the furry friends photos and hearing about their adventures. (the humans too)

 

Holly

[fairbourne]

 

 

Hi Jagger - I am your puppy friend Aruba from Scotland. You are very handsome - I love your eyes! Don't tell Horton I said that to you 'coz he's my special boyfriend too and I don't want him to be jealous! Oh and I have another special boyfriend - Davis - he's another blondie like you, so you will all just have to share my puppy kisses! A girl can never have too many boyfriends! And of course, there's my very, very special boy Max who is my bestest friend in the whole world with Poppy. It's no wonder your new Mum loves you so much if you look at her like that with those big soppy eyes and that great smile ..... Put them to good use Jagger!

 

I've been a very good girl today apparently! I was at the hairdresser with Mum and behaved so well, I just had a snooze cuddled up to the toasty radiator while "she who must be obeyed" had her hair done. I must have been extra special very good, cos we all got a special bone for a treat when we got home.

 

Take care Jagger and welcome to our lovely doggy family here.

 

Lots of luv and puppy kisses

Aruba

[fairbourne]

LOVE the latest photo of Jagger, Holly, and all of them! He's such a lovie. As Beckie said, keep them coming.

 

(Now I need to "walk the walk" myself...Maybe I'll get inspired today to post a couple from our recent cruise.)

 

Yes please Chris - photos please. I took some of Aruba on my new phone, I just need to work out how to move them around so I can post them. This may take a while! ;):rolleyes:

[thephantomsgirl]

Dear Aruba,

 

Mama Holly showed me your photo. You are so very beautiful. You remind me of my really good friend at the ranch named Serena.

 

And yes a beauty like you is meant to be admired by many and I am glad I'm on your list. :) A boy needs girlfriends and we'd look so good together. (but we won't tell Horton or Davis)

 

Mama Holly tells me that Scotland is important to us. I'm going to live in Mount Dora, Florida and it has a sister city in Scotland. Forres, Moray.

 

Puppy kisses and tail wags back at you!

 

Jagger

[Caribbean Chris]

 

Raylene and her Pal in Key West

Edited May 1, 2015 by Caribbean Chris
Photo

[Caribbean Chris]

 

Here we are in Honduras where the tenders dock

[Caribbean Chris]

On deck right outside our room, seeking out a patch of sunshine for a black-dog-snooze. You'd think she would get too hot, but she loves the sun.

 

We've always liked Holland America's broad teak promenade decks, this trip especially, since the relief box was located on this deck all the way forward. Very convenient.

 

[thephantomsgirl]

Love the photos of Raylene. Bet she had the best time. :)

[Caribbean Chris]

Says Raylene: I was hoping for a towel dog when the bed was turned down, but a towel elephant appeared on my sofa instead. What's with that?