Author Topic: Pet Passports???  (Read 4419 times)

Offline Cebelius

  • Cookie Maker
  • **
  • Posts: 40
  • Evil Looms. Cowboy Up. Kill It. Get Paid.
    • View Profile
    • Beyond the Veil
Pet Passports???
« on: March 04, 2013, 21:15:47 »
Looking at this I see.... no vet check required, no health certificate needed... and no predictable behavior based on how many times do pets get surrounded by thousands of strange people who smell even funnier than your average crowd?

Fleas?

ALLERGIES?

Problems.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Offline Dhary Montecore

  • Head of Security
  • SuperFuzz!
  • *****
  • Posts: 274
  • Country: 00
  • MI:3 - Party on, we got your back!
    • View Profile
    • dhary.de
Re: Pet Passports???
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2013, 21:27:25 »
Hey Cebelius!

Your concerns are duly noted, but let me assure you, that no dog will spread any zoonosis (disease that can be transfered from animal to human) to anyone and fleas on a pet shouldn't happen too. If you are allergic to animal-hair you shouldn't have any problems either with very few dogs among a crowd of almost 800 people.

Many conventions allow animals for many years and never had any such problems, quite the opposite. After all, animals are part of the meaning of being a furry, ain't it? :3

Offline Wyla

  • Cookie Eater
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
    • FurAffinity
Re: Pet Passports???
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2013, 21:36:27 »
I'm going to voice my full thoughts here rather than trying to cram them into the Twitter character limits!

My main concern is as Cebelius raises above; this is a very busy event with hundreds of people. Surely a vet slip would be advisable to prevent any undetected infections spreading? Dogs are indeed normally allowed at the hotel but a gathering of hundreds upon hundreds of people is a rather different occasion. The Puma Hotels websites do already state that dogs are allowed so I guess I just find it odd that CF needed to draw attention in a "bring your dogs!" type fashion.

Secondly, reactive dogs. While I agree that many dogs are well socialised and would probably not cause an issue, I do have concerns that this is left entirely to the discretion of the owner. Even the most placid of dogs can have an adverse reaction to something new - such as a large gathering of costumed people, for example - and it can be extremely hard to tell how any animal is going to respond. Service dogs are trained to be pretty much bomb-proof in these situations but it's a sad fact that the average dog may not have been socialised/conditioned enough to ensure that it won't react to this environment. YES it is down to the owner to ensure their dog is healthy and in a good stable mindset but some people can make bad decisions. I realise that we're not going to have packs of dogs roaming the halls by the dozen, but it only takes one.

Cats I realise are confined to rooms but I know many people have rather severe cat allergies. Puma Hotels do not state anywhere on their website that they usually allow cats, is this arrangement especially for the convention?

I'm not trying to be all "ALL THE DOGS WILL BITE EVERYONE AND GET FLEAS FOREVER, CFZ2013 DOOMPOCALYPSE" here - I think the idea in itself is nice and I'm all for getting to meet some happy dawgs at con - but I do think that these are valid concerns.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2013, 21:38:43 by Wyla »

Offline Rallicat

  • Forum Admins
  • I'm on here as much as I can!
  • ******
  • Posts: 80
  • Dealers Den Deputy
    • View Profile
Re: Pet Passports???
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2013, 00:05:16 »
The policy has now been reviewed and we are no longer offering the cat policy.  I can assure you though that our venue liaison is a very diligent and hard working individual.  If he says the hotel allows cats, then you can take his word for it!

As for the specific issues you raise about health and behaviour;

For health, we will investigate whether this is feasible, however as with any check, it is a 'snapshot', and does not give an absolute guarantee that the animal will be healthy 'on the day'.

Animal behaviour is unlikely to be a problem, we have put in place a heavy disclaimer for a reason, not just to cover ourselves, but to also impress upon the owner their responsibilities (although it should be noted that to suggest to the average furry dog owner that they aren't responsible would probably be taken as something of a serious insult!).  We have looked toward other conventions such as Eurofurence where animals have been successfully brought (although it should be noted not in any great number) for many years without incident and do not feel that there is a risk to the public.  Dog owners typically know how their dogs react in crowds, or in stressful or new situations, and know how to handle them.

We will of course constantly review this particular policy, but we're confident -based on the experience of other conventions- that there will be no risk to our attendees.

Offline James The Dog

  • Omg, I post a lot!
  • ****
  • Posts: 126
  • Country: gb
    • View Profile
    • Twitter
Re: Pet Passports???
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2013, 20:18:38 »
One thing, seeing as I'm a dog, does that mean I need to get a pass for myself?  ;D

Offline Rallicat

  • Forum Admins
  • I'm on here as much as I can!
  • ******
  • Posts: 80
  • Dealers Den Deputy
    • View Profile
Re: Pet Passports???
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2013, 17:20:58 »
Quick update on this topic.

As previously mentioned, we'd like to update people on how many pet passports have been sold.

The Grand Total is: 1

Hope that helps
--
Rallicat
ConFuzzled Communications.

Offline Rallicat

  • Forum Admins
  • I'm on here as much as I can!
  • ******
  • Posts: 80
  • Dealers Den Deputy
    • View Profile
Re: Pet Passports???
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2013, 15:23:52 »
As promised, we are keeping you up to date on how many pet passports have been sold.

We have so far sold two.

Hope this information is useful
--
Rallicat