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Smitty, seems to me a reasonable conductor would weigh the needs of either party and try to come to an accommodation. Placing them in different cars would work in the vast majority of cases. If they are in the same sleeper and there is just one sleeper, perhaps placing one person upstairs and one person downstairs would help.
A person allergic to pet hair most likely carries an inhalator (in case of asthma) and that sometimes takes care of the problem, all else being equal. Such people have dealt with the allergy all their lives and have developed coping strategies that the conductor could inquire about.
[As an ADA-dependent person myself, I would tell the conductor that any problem my presence caused could easily be solved by letting me ride in the locomotive. ;-)]
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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I don't dislike dogs, but I disapprove of allowing them in inappropriate places, and of any dogs that are aggressive towards law-abiding people.
Posts: 144 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Henry Kisor: [As an ADA-dependent person myself, I would tell the conductor that any problem my presence caused could easily be solved by letting me ride in the locomotive. ;-)]
You, sir, are shameless. Absolutely shameless. And I don't want to be associated in any way with this shamelessness. Therefore, you leave me with no alternative but to formally notify you that heretofore you are to cease and desist from using my name in any of your future literary efforts.
Which, by the way, raises the question: any future rail books in the pipeline? Truth be said, it was your Zephyr that got me re-hooked on rail travel back in the 90's. Great book. You think you could work around the z-word cease and desist decree and publish another?
Posts: 445 | Registered: May 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: A comment that has stuck with me over the years is that 'the English (yes I am quite Anglo Saxon - WASP if you will) treat their dogs better than they do their children'. They take their dogs into restaurants (yes they do) but they send their children off to boarding school (I was)'.
Dogs haven't been allowed in restaurants for at least as long as I've been on this planet (except service dogs) (mid 70s), and only the rich can afford to pack their kids off to boarding school. The other 99% of us have to put up with state education.
As an aside, apparently these days we have slightly more cat lovers than dog lovers.
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Henry Kisor: As an ADA-dependent person myself, I would tell the conductor that any problem my presence caused could easily be solved by letting me ride in the locomotive. ;-)
Please, let me be the first to assist you in being your carer/helper/dogsbody in that cab.
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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While not for one moment am I suggesting that Le Gavroche or the Connaught Hotel Grill are about to welcome quadripeds as their dinner guests, I distinctly recall at a Pub along the Thames in the West End allowing dogs to come to a lunch. Hansel (my Sister's German Short Haired Pointer) simply curled up under the table and if a morsel or two descended his way....well just a little less for the staff to sweep up.
As for State v. Public education (that's "private' anywhere else), I'm only reiterating the comment I once heard.
But then, my Sister returned during 1989 and I haven't had much reason to "go over' since.
Posts: 9977 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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Ah, now pubs are different... don't ask me how. But the so-called gastro pubs Iie ones that make more money out of food than drink) often have a bar area for any man and his dog, and a restaurant area where dogs aren't allowed. One can choose to eat bar snacks in the bar area with the risk of canine interference or avoid contact.
Presumably you're aware that we did away with sawdust on the floor decades ago?
Geoff M.
-------------------- Geoff M. Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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Sorry to be so late with this, but it took me a little while to get the information from Amtrak. Except for a long passage defining what a service animal is -- they can range from dogs to monkeys -- and how there is no uniform way of credentialing them, this is what the current on-board employee handbook says about service animals:
How can an employee know that an animal is a service animal rather than a pet? • Look for physical indicators on the animal: Some service animals wear harnesses,vests,capes or backpacks.Markings on these items or on the animal’stags may identify it as a sevrice animal. However,the absence of such equipment does not necessarily mean the animal is not a service animal. • Observethe animal’sbehavior: Service animals are trained to behave properly in public settings. For example,a properly trained guide dog will not run around the station,bark or growl at other passengers,or bite or jump on people. • Obtain credible verbal assurances from passenger that the animal is a service animal:You can ask the passenger:“Is this your pet?”If the passenger responds that the animal is a service animal and not a pet,but uncertainty remains about the animal, you may ask appropriate follow up questions. You can ask:“What tasks or functions does your animal perform for you?”or “What has it been trained to do for you?”Employees may not ask the passenger what his/her disability is or the cause of the passenger’s disability. • Although there may be a few people who try to “beat the system”by bringing pets on board our trains,most passengers with disabilities claiming to have service animals really do have service animals.Since access for persons with disabilities traveling with service animals is a civil right covered under the ADA,employees should err on the side of permitting access to passenger areas.If it looks like a service animal and the customer says it is a service animal-welcome the animal aboard. • If it is determined that an animal is not a service animal or if the service animal poses a direct threat to others,the animal can be denied access to Amtrak premises.On the rare occasion that an animal has to be excluded from Amtrak premises, you should handle the situation in a polite and professional manner.When an animal is excluded from Amtrak premises while en route,the employee making this decision must complete a Passenger Incident Report detailing the incident. • Passengers traveling with service animals may not be isolated from other passengers.Allergies,incon- venience,and fear of animals by other passengers are not valid reasons for denying access to passenger areas or refusing service to people with service animals. If a passenger states that he/she has allergies or an aversion to animals,that person should be shown to a location as far away from the service animal as practical. • Amtrak is not required to do any of the following in order to accommodate a person traveling with a service animal: • Asking another passenger to move or give up a space to accommodate a service animal. • Denying transportation to another passenger in order to provide an accommodation to a passenger with a service animal. • Furnishing more than one seat to a person traveling with a service animal.
-- All this indicates to me that Amtrak is complying with the ADA, and doing so in a reasonable way.
Posts: 2236 | From: Evanston, Ill. and Ontonagon, Mich. | Registered: Feb 2007
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Thanks, Henry. That's very interesting! It also answers my allergy question.
So the attendant I had on my train (where the woman had a dog that I'm fairly certain was not a service animal) was wrong. He said that they are not allowed to ask any questions and just accept it. Now I know that this is false. Hard to believe---an Amtrak OBS employee not knowing his responsibilities? Surely I can't be serious! (I am serious...and don't call me Shirley!).
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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quote:Originally posted by chrisg: Funny how is all started when I used hot dog copied from an Amtrak menu.
Chris
And I sincerely hope that you weren't offended when I poked fun at that.
I was a bit worried that I might have when you went back and edited the menu.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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Now I am beginning too miss the old reliable *** popping up on this forum. Are bagpipes and ponies also going to fade into distant memory?
Posts: 1572 | From: St. Paul, MN | Registered: Dec 2002
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Just to bring it back to your mind - bagpipes, bagpipes, bagpipes
ah-ooga!
-------------------- My new "default" station (EKH) has no baggage service or QuikTrak machine, but the parking is free! And the NY Central RR Museum is just across the tracks (but not open at Amtrak train times. . ..) Posts: 337 | From: Goshen, IN | Registered: Jun 2006
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Keep talking about bagpipes and I'll start getting ads for visiting New Zealand again.
But I hear they have some nice trains in New Zealand.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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