I would bet it is an awareness thing, and a working dog is a working dog.  If someone asked to bring their seizure-response dog, I'm sure it would be ok.  Now, I also believe that best-friend puppies are wonderful companions for walks & retreats and so on, so why can't I bring my dumb, old, goofy useless-except-for-a-laugh dogs?? 

Ah well - not a huge surprise. :)

It seems to me that one family had to cut their visit short this summer and go home to look after the dogs.  It would have been great to be able to say:  Bring them along - lots of space to run and play, a creek to swim in.  But as the policy says, some people have alergies.  My sister, for instance, could not stay in a cabin that had housed a dog the night before.  Other people have fear of dogs - they panic around dogs.   Others just might not like a dog jumping around them and on them - or just don't like dogs.  Unfortunately not all dog owners act responsibly either.  What seems to be cute and friendly when a dog rushes up to welcome someone, might terrify someone else.  And then there is the question of cleaning up - some people turn a blind eye.

The exception is made for seeing-eye dogs.  I would imagine that would include all service animals.  If a parapaligic in a wheelchair has a monkey who helps him, or an epileptic has a seisure dog, I feel certain that Five Oaks would make every effort to accommodate them.

(ummm ... hi jae)  I agree - the policy reflects a welcome to working dogs - and I'm convinced any who fit that category would be welcome, as would their owners. 

That's always the challenge when we name anyone or anything specifically ... something/someone will be inadvertently missed & some people may take offense.

Hi Aquaman,

I believe that the policy is directed at pets and that service dogs are exempt.

You could call Five Oaks and ask.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Yes, I do agree, revjohn and all. I just wish they (and so many other places) would say so up front.

There is a case in ontario where the owner of a b&b refused a service dog because he has an alergy to dogs - he cannot have them in his house and a b&b is his home - he had to shut it down because he was sued. Nice ethical question here - two rights.

Oh my goodness ... that just seems absurd to me pan ... so many options of places to stay where it wouldn't be an issue in all likelihood ... but really, a law suit instead.  Sad.  

It is sad, but there may have been other things.

Having a good friend with a working dog, who has both stayed & worked at Five Oaks, I can share with you that yes, service dogs are very welcome.

Also, having been harrassed by a dog being walked by a child whose family was visiting five oaks..I can say that even though I have a dog, I am thankful that five oaks does not allow pet dogs.  

I get that many of us have dogs that are well behaved.  I also realize that many mroe do not.

service dogs, on the other hand, are well trained.

aquaman, i have dropped a line to them on it...

Pan - regarding a b&b being sued for not allowing a service dog - that is rediculus. A b&b is a very small business, operated out of a person's home - it is not like a commercial establishment.

It seems to me that this might have been a test case - or a lack of communication. Did the person reserving the room indicate that she would be travelling with a service dog? Did the advertisement state 'no dogs or cats' or 'no pets'? And was there no other accommodation available where this person could stay with their guide dog? No common sense in finding a solution.

It reminds me of a situation that occured at a nearby university a few years ago. There as an English as a Second Language course - total emersion, English only day and night. A French speaking person from Quebec came with his guide dog. Guess what - the dog only understood commands in French. The student was heard speaking to his dog in French and expelled from the program. No common sense here either.

Funny how we read and interpret things differently.  I read the policy and the words "open to making exceptions" says to me that they would be open to seizure detecting dogs too.  I wouldn't assume they were excluded because they were not named along with seeing/hearing assist dogs.

Agreed, Meredith...but I htink there is also sensitivityif one has been truned away in the past.

Ditto on suing, there may be more to that story than meets the eye.

I was really really surprised by a mistreatment received by my friend when we were travelling in Kelowna.  A restaurant staff member told us we could not come in.  Now, it was clear this was a service dog due to harness, etc.   There were three of us, and the other person spoke up, and made it clear.  The staff was clearly thinking they should not let a dog into the restaurant.  (This was the only restaurant in the airport).

Thanks for reminding me, as  i was going to write the airport and suggest some training was called for at that restaurant, and ask that they speak to them.

note: my eyes were also opened to how difficult it is to travel and be treated appropriately.

Hey, that's wonderful, Pinga

Please do let us know how they respond.

You mean to tell me that you didn't talk to them yourself? Why would you complain about something, give others a bad feeling about a church when you don't even know what they had to say? Why are we always so quick to complain and speculate without the facts? Why wouldn't you have just contacted them and asked. At that point you could have posted the facts instead of your complaint?

Yes, yes, you're right, of course. But... I'm too lazy.

Got a response this afternoon.

They will change the wording on the site, next time that it is updated.

They appreciate the feedback.

That is wonderful news. Thank you, Pinga. You made my day.

You can call it lazy all you want but it was just plain irrisponsable and mean spirited to paint the picture of Five Oaks that you did. You might as well start a couple of juicy rumours....true or not true someone will believe them and you will do irreprable dammage to someones reputation. Hope you learned a lesson.....

What picture?? I'm sure it's a wonderful place. Even though I'm not in the UCC, I would love to visit Five Oaks some day. I just discovered that they made one oversight. As for starting rumours, no thank you. I did, I did (re)learn a lesson. The lesson is be thankful when someone (Pinga) unexpectedly helps you out.

Well jae, maybe the lesson also is that you too could have simply written a courteous e-mail to 5 oaks, bringing it to their attention, instead of waiting for somebody else to take that initiative.   Speaking to the source to solve an issue is most often a good strategy.

The reason that I wrote the email, is that I found it sad that a place that I know bends over backwards to include people was being presumed to not welcome people due to a couple of words on a website, that weren't perfectly phrased.

So, yes, Aqua, I was being nice.

On the other hand, I would never have posted anegative presumption without first checking.  My sense is that is what Carolla is getting at.

The only reason I didn't point that out up front, is that I get that folks can get tired of being their own advocates.

I wasn't presuming anything. Their statement was what it was. I do understand your point though. I should have written to them first. 

Thank you for that.

Thank you again Pinga. I am pleased to report that Five Oaks has changed their wording. All service animals are now stated as being welcome :)