Alleged Service Dogs at Desert Springs Villas

[WBP]

I find it hard to believe that our neighbor at Desert Springs Villas has a disability that requires three Service Dogs. I get it, hotels can ask only a few simple questions, and not cross a line. But, I am mind-boggled by the audacity of people to pull shenanigans, like calling their three (poorly behaved) dogs, Service Dogs.

Perhaps, the guests in the villa did not declare their three, alleged Service Dogs, or their pets, to the Front Desk.

Some people are just unconscionable.

By the way, the JW Marriott Desert Springs has become a Pet Friendly hotel. We saw dogs stretched out on their own chaise lounges at the pool. We did not see any dogs swimming in the pool.

 

[vail]

Dogs must pass a swimming test to swim in the pool.
Service dogs are exempt.

 

[VacationForever]

Did you report to the front desk? If not, why not? Three dogs definitely should raise a red flag and easy for the front desk to challenge the occupants.

 

[WorldT]

I have never seen a person with three service dogs. But then, I haven't met every disabled person in the world.

 

[bazzap]

Thankfully at non US MVC resorts dog owners can be challenged to prove that they have genuine service dogs and asked to leave if they can not or will not, as well as being charged a villa cleaning fee.
I have yet to meet an owner with a genuine service dog who is not willing to provide such proof.
In fact, if anything, I found that they tend to be even more annoyed at those trying to scam the system by trying to bring pets under false pretences as fake so called “service” dogs.

 

[VacationForever]

We were at Westin Mission Hills a couple of years ago and there was a yapper in one of the units. It was obvious that the dog was left on it's own while the owners were out. Several of the guests came out to check and called the front desk, including ourselves. Security came out and identified the unit. The following morning everyone in the unit was gone, presumably expelled.

 

[pedro47]

Three service animals for one individual should raise a red flag to the resort? IMO.

 

[davidvel]

But, but, but, you are discriminating against the 1% that are legitimate just by asking what task they are trained to perform, ha ha. The only ones that complain or claim discrimination are the degenerate cheaters.


In San Diego dogs are prohibited in most places, but there are still so many dogs that crap on the beach and people and kids step in it. When approached by lifeguards they say they are service dogs (when any rational person knows they are not.) Owners say it is a service dog, and LG can do nothing per policy. Yaaah, we just advanced disability rights by letting scofflaw be a degenerate.


You cannot park in a handicap space without a placard, but you don't need evidence of service dog. Total joke.

 

[VacationForever]

Our friends did not blink when they brought their pet into the San Diego Wild Safari Park. They were questioned and we stayed far away from them waiting for them to be caught. She lied about their dog being a service dog and "performing" a task/service for her. They got their pet onto the plane as a service dog and sat on her lap the whole time. They filled out a TSA form with the name of the service dog trainer. The dog did get training from the trainer to be obedient but not to perform a service for her. In fact, the trainer told them that there was no way their cute little schnauzer could perform a service for her.

 

[b2bailey]

A dear friend used to sneak / lie her two little dogs into a variety of places.
When I invited her to join me at my Marriott Newport Coast unit, she asked me to inquire about their
Policy for emotional support service animals. I told her I would have a difficult time asking for ONE,
But no way would I inquire about TWO.

 

[pedro47]

But, but, but, you are discriminating against the 1% that are legitimate just by asking what task they are trained to perform, ha ha. The only ones that complain or claim discrimination are the degenerate cheaters.


In San Diego dogs are prohibited in most places, but there are still so many dogs that crap on the beach and people and kids step in it. When approached by lifeguards they say they are service dogs (when any rational person knows they are not.) Owners say it is a service dog, and LG can do nothing per policy. Yaaah, we just advanced disability rights by letting scofflaw be a degenerate.


You cannot park in a handicap space without a placard, but you don't need evidence of service dog. Total joke.

Everyone with a handicapped placard are not handicapped. IMHO.
I have seen spouses and. Friends using handicapped placards.

 

[pedro47]

IMHO, most service dogs that are trained and certified will wear their service dog vast as a proud service dog. That is a honor to be trained as a service dog and certified...IMHO.

 

[Bucky]

Everyone with a handicapped placard are not handicapped. IMHO.
I have seen spouses and. Friends using handicapped placards.

You are going down a very slippery slope there! My wife is considered my legal caretaker and as such her car also gets a handicap plate. Anywhere she goes she is entitled to use a handicapped spot if she is performing a caregiver chore, but usually doesn’t. I learned a long time ago to not be judgmental about others using a handicap placard. We just never know. I’ve had people ask me how I can still play golf and be 100% disabled? Life just throws a lot of curveballs.

 

[WorldT]

But at least they have to display the placard that was issued by a government agency based on a doctor's assessment. You can't just sell attest and park in a handicap spot.
Of course some people may abuse it but it is not a free for all.

 

[geist1223]

Service Dogs are not required to wear a Vest. There are only 2 questions the owner can be asked. 1. Is this a Service Animal? What specific task is the Service Animal trained to preform? There is no required license.

 

[VacationForever]

You are going down a very slippery slope there! My wife is considered my legal caretaker and as such her car also gets a handicap plate. Anywhere she goes she is entitled to use a handicapped spot if she is performing a caregiver chore, but usually doesn’t. I learned a long time ago to not be judgmental about others using a handicap placard. We just never know. I’ve had people ask me how I can still play golf and be 100% disabled? Life just throws a lot of curveballs.

I have a handicap placard since 2021, renewable for 2 years at a time. I rarely use the placard but it does come in handy when I need it.

I have loose ligaments which cause joints issues (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)), moving my joints in and out. When it's out and not popped back in, I am in severe pain. My right hip is always in pain but when it's popped out, I am in searing pain from even walking, but when it's in, pain is minimal. MRI showed labral tear in that hip, presumably caused by the popping in and out of the joint. I golf 4 to 5 days a week so like you, I can golf but sometimes I cannot put weight on that hip. When I was young, I would fall down almost every day because the joints in my feet and ankle are unstable. My friends in university used to call me "Now you see her and now you don't", that was because we would be chatting and walking side by side and the next moment I was on the ground. Now I fall down every month or so, usually during golf while walking on uneven surfaces.

People who don't know me would say I am a cheat with my handicap pass but then I very rarely use it.

 

[TolmiePeak]

I'm bringing my service gorilla to Palm Springs.

 

[pedro47]

You are going down a very slippery slope there! My wife is considered my legal caretaker and as such her car also gets a handicap plate. Anywhere she goes she is entitled to use a handicapped spot if she is performing a caregiver chore, but usually doesn’t. I learned a long time ago to not be judgmental about others using a handicap placard. We just never know. I’ve had people ask me how I can still play golf and be 100% disabled? Life just throws a lot of curveballs.

Bucky, please forgive me.
I was not addressing legal caretakers. I have a neighbor that run 2 to 3 miles every day in the morning; that used a handclapped plate.
My internal physician will not give me one because I'm able to walk 1 to 2 miles everyday.

 

[callwill]

IMHO, most service dogs that are trained and certified will wear their service dog vast as a proud service dog. That is a honor to be trained as a service dog and certified...IMHO.

unfortunately anyone can buy one of those for their pet.

 

[jp10558]

Everyone with a handicapped placard are not handicapped. IMHO.
I have seen spouses and. Friends using handicapped placards.

I just can't even understand why you'd want to claim to be handicapped when you aren't. It's usually not that much farther to walk, and it's good for you! That said, in the last years of my fathers life I had to take him to the doctors a lot, and he got a placard we put in my car cause he needed to be driven, but also needed help right out of the car, so I couldn't easily just drop him off and have him wait for me to come get him after parking farther away. Of course, when I wasn't taking my dad to the doctors or wherever, I hid the placard away and parked normally.

 

[jp10558]

unfortunately anyone can buy one of those for their pet.

I personally think it should be fine to need a license or something that you show that is some level of proof the animal is a service animal. There are more and more "pet friendly" hotels etc, and I think the market will provide here, but I also think I should be able to reasonably go to a "non-pet friendly" hotel and not have to deal with people's pets. Luckily, at least so far, I have avoided the issue.

 

[klpca]

We were at DSVII a while ago. Early one morning (about 7:30) I saw a little white dog on our ground floor patio. I looked to see if it had tags (yes) and my first thought was that someone's dog from the neighborhood had gotten out. Before I could open the door, there was a man standing nearby, calling the dog. The dog ran towards the man, and for the next 5 minutes, I watched a spirited game of fetch taking place on the golf course. When some golfers came into view, they left. Since I didn't know where the man and dog were staying, I didn't call the front desk. I did call them after my husband came across them when taking something out to our car. The dog growled and barked at him which didn't bother my husband, but clearly that dog was not a service dog. My husband watched them go back into their unit, and once he told me, I reported them to the front desk. The person I spoke to said "we have one service dog on the property, and it is a large dog". They knew exactly how many service dogs were onsite. As we left to leave, we ran into the guy again walking his dog off leash. If I was going to try to sneak my dog on a property, I wouldn't play ball on the golf course, and I wouldn't let it run around off leash. The front desk had said that they were sending security but I have no idea what happened. It was our last day so we didn't stick around.

 

[AlmostRetired]

Service dogs are trained to provide a function. The training organization or person should be required to provide information that gets the dog a service dog license that must be shown at check in. There are people who legitimately require a service dog and I would bet that every one of them would gladly show a license if they were required to do so. If you don't have a license, an easy solution, feed them to the dogs.

I would guess that service dogs still require exercise and all dogs require love and show of affection so at times that can seem like regular dogs. The idiots and I am truly being kind, that fake service dogs causes a problem for those who need it because at this point, every animal is questioned in peoples mind.

We have a challenge on what to do with our dog when looking to plan a vacation. I love my dog but taking her on vacation is not an option. It is not a vacation for me or the dog. All our solutions require a hefty cost of 65 to 95 per day if you can find someone. between my resistance to pay it and the fact that my wife is tougher on who watches our dog than who babysat our kids, so we have not gone away as much as I had hoped. 2025 will be different. I have added a dogtax to the cost of every vacation planned. Cayman Island in December, Italy in April, Iceland in May and maybe Disney in March. I am a little torn right now because both my granddaughter and my dog want to go to Disney. Side note, my first use of an accommodation certificate is almost eight years is Disney's Old Key West Resort in March.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Through various articles and ADA rule readings over the years, I found the following interesting:

1. If a person needs a service animal, it needs to be with them continuously. That is, they can't go out to dinner and leave the dog on the deck or alone in the unit.
2. If a dog is causing a nuisance like barking (without reason/performing a service) or threatening people, the owner can be directed to remove it from the property - - even if it IS an actual service dog.

Last year at Marriott Newport Coast, when we were out on the lanai, the dog from the adjacent unit would bark at us continuously. It was really annoying. The owners weren't doing much, if anything, to quiet the dog. We called security and when they knocked on the neighbor's door, the dog started barking at the door ferociously. So, much for the ruse of pretending to have a service animal. They were gone within the hour and the next day Marriott did a deep cleaning of their unit. That has got to be an expensive lesson.

 

[CO skier]

... there was a man standing nearby, calling the dog. The dog ran towards the man, and for the next 5 minutes, I watched a spirited game of fetch taking place on the golf course. When some golfers came into view, they left. Since I didn't know where the man and dog were staying, I didn't call the front desk. I did call them after my husband came across them when taking something out to our car. The dog growled and barked at him which didn't bother my husband, but clearly that dog was not a service dog.

This is exactly the situation at Club Wyndham Pagosa in Colorado. During the summer it is as much a kennel club as it is a vacation club. The resort hides behind the, "There is nothing we can do about it." I pointed out that the large City Market grocery store a few blocks away solved the problem by posting a sign regarding service dogs. If Kroger can do that as a business, why not Wyndham?