Pets on Long Distance Trains

[HenryK]

I wonder what would happen if someone was going, say, from Chicago to Hastings and the train was delayed by three or four hours en route, stretching the 7 hour limit into 10 or 11 hours. Would Fido be dead on the law after seven hours? Would a cab have to be dispatched at oh-Godawful-thirty to a crossing at Nowheresville to collect the pooch?

 

[fairviewroad]

I wonder what would happen if someone was going, say, from Chicago to Hastings and the train was delayed by three or four hours en route, stretching the 7 hour limit into 10 or 11 hours. Would Fido be dead on the law after seven hours? Would a cab have to be dispatched at oh-Godawful-thirty to a crossing at Nowheresville to collect the pooch?

That's a pretty amusing image.

My first thought was, well, the policy states that pets can't be booked on trips longer than 7 hours. But actually, the policy says "Maximum length of travel on the train will be seven hours." [bolding mine]

That would suggest that after 7 hours, Fido has to go bye-bye regardless of whether the train has made it to the intended destination. But in reality, I'm certain pets will be able to stay on the train to their ticketed destination even in the case of a severe delay.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Maybe the pet would be allowed to stay aboard after 7 Hours and the owner would be kicked off for terminal stupidity!

I love animals but they belong @ home if a pet, or out in the wild, not on public transportation or in retail establishments! YMMV

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I wonder what would happen if someone was going, say, from Chicago to Hastings and the train was delayed by three or four hours en route, stretching the 7 hour limit into 10 or 11 hours. Would Fido be dead on the law after seven hours? Would a cab have to be dispatched at oh-Godawful-thirty to a crossing at Nowheresville to collect the pooch?

That's a pretty amusing image.

My first thought was, well, the policy states that pets can't be booked on trips longer than 7 hours. But actually, the policy says "Maximum length of travel on the train will be seven hours." [bolding mine]

That would suggest that after 7 hours, Fido has to go bye-bye regardless of whether the train has made it to the intended destination. But in reality, I'm certain pets will be able to stay on the train to their ticketed destination even in the case of a severe delay.

We may chuckle with casual certainty but Amtrak has kicked children off the train in the middle of the night because they were discovered to be breaking the letter of the rules. Not to mention that pets are being forced on Amtrak by Congress and are not something Amtrak wanted anything to do with originally. Seems like if you were on the wrong train at the wrong time the rules as currently written could result in a rather unfortunate experience.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

There are probably better laws and advocacy groups for animals/pets/dogs, than for children. So, Amtrak might find it "easier" to toss a kid off the train, than a dog.

I am going to venture a guess that the 7 hours is the max before Amtrak would be legally required to do something. I know that for airlines, there are laws that require the airline to offer the animal water and food every so many hours.

 

[fairviewroad]

We may chuckle with casual certainty but Amtrak has kicked children off the train in the middle of the night because they were discovered to be breaking the letter of the rules. Not to mention that pets are being forced on Amtrak by Congress and are not something Amtrak wanted anything to do with originally. Seems like if you were on the wrong train at the wrong time the rules as currently written could result in a rather unfortunate experience.

I see your point, but there's an obvious difference between these two scenarios. Namely, the children were breaking the rules the moment they stepped on the train. The pets are legal until the point that Amtrak's inability to run its trains on time renders them "illegal."

[Note: I'm not defending the kicking of children off of trains.]

 

[HenryK]

Please clue me in on the cases in which children were kicked off Amtrak trains. I vaguely remember one but not others.

(Ten minutes later.) Seems to be ONE case. Doubt that there's a trend.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I have to do this since no one else will:

http://991.com/newgallery/****o+For+Pyros+Pets+18815.jpg

Is Perry Farrell allowed on the train? :giggle:

 

[dlagrua]

Before we can be in favor of allowing pets on all Amtrak routes, we need to understand the difference between a max 6 hr airline trip and a long distance Amtrak trip that can last three days. Dogs must be walked that sometimes takes 15 minutes or more. Cats are easier to transport if you take food and a portable litter box but if they are in a roomette or bedroom the doors often swing wide open due to a lack of a outside lock. I can see small pets in carriers being allowed on a few hour trip but not on an overnight train trip.

 

[jebr]

That's why Amtrak is only allowing them on trips of seven hours or less.

 

[HenryK]

Service animals are allowed on overnight train trips and they do fine. No reason to expect that pets won't. Quite possibly Amtrak is going into the water slowly and carefully with that 7-hour rule to see what happens before they allow pets to swim out to the raft. (I know this is a weird metaphor but it's the best I can do tonight.)

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Service animals are allowed on overnight train trips and they do fine. No reason to expect that pets won't.

There's no reason to expect that random pets of nearly unlimited health levels and demeanors will behave differently than well trained working age service animals? In my experience untrained pets often struggle to maintain their composure in public and their owners often struggle to handle pet related issues calmly and amicably. Not to mention that it's probably unfair to the pet to keep it stuffed in a carrier all that time, which is not a requirement for trained service animals.

 

[PVD]

For many animals it's probably also unfair to pick them up, stuff them in a carrier, take them out of an environment they are comfortable with, and force them to travel. Like people, many animals don't travel well, they just have different ways to express it. Sadly, pets are usually looked at by their owners with their viewpoint in mind, not the animals'. I'm happier because I can travel, my dog/cat can come with me, who cares about the trauma it has to endure.

 

[HenryK]

I think that to expect a random pet always to behave differently from service animals not only generalizes from the particular ("in my experience"—sadly, I do the same thing) but also begs the question. Many pets are well behaved; many are not, just as humans are. Conductors have the power to put both species off the train if there is a troublesome incident. Personally, I think that within a couple of years of experience Amtrak will relax the rules, we will catch up to Europe's pet friendliness, and this debate will be long forgotten.

 

[HenryK]

Learned some interesting stuff today.

1. Except for Illinois regional trains, no coaches will be designated as pet cars. Anyone carrying a pet in the proper crate can sit in any coach (not business class, food service cars or sleepers). Amtrak says that more allergens are carried on the clothes of other passengers than are carried by pets being transported.

This puts paid to my idea that the last car on every LD train would be a pet coach.

2. If a train is so late that a pet exceeds the seven-hour limit, the pet can stay aboard until the ticketed destination and the owner can make arrangements with the conductor for extra time to walk the animal at the next station stop.

 

[Ted Bell]

Dogs should certainly not have free reign!

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/dog-kings-crown-17713345.jpg

Free rein is probably bad too, but I really don't want to be ruled by crowned canine overlords.

(While we're nitpicking people's English.)

 

[Ted Bell]

Good grammar is very cool. Excellent post.

 

[DCAKen]

I received a survey yesterday from Amtrak on my most recent trip on the NEC. About half the survey was questions about pets on trains...whether I had a pet, if I would take one on a train, any concerns about pets on trains, etc.

 

[CSXfoamer1997]

Why is it that Amtrak has a "maximum weight" of pets with pet carriers? That would mean you can't carry large dogs on the train like Labs, German Shepherds, Great Danes, etc.

I personally think it wouldn't sound fair to the passengers that own larger dogs compared to the passengers that have smaller dogs.

 

[CCC1007]

I think it is that they can feel more like an airline.

 

[mjaynes288]

I hope this will make the dog situation on the Coast Starlight better but I do not hold much hope. I just had a service dog wash out after 6 months of work. We took 3 round trips from Oregon to California. On our last trip an unleashed, unmarked "service dog" attacked my dog at Klamath Falls. The Jack Russel charged us from 20 feet away, ran up and tried to eat my Labrador's face. My dog was screaming and trying to jump high to avoid injury. The other owner was able to call his dog away after a minute. After I checked my dog over for injuries and he had scratches near his eye. I wanted that dog off the train. I had to wait for half an hour in the freezing weather for the conductor and station agent to come see me. They told me to call USA-RAIL. USA-RAIL told me the conductor had to call it in. The conductor wanted nothing to do with it (possibly because we were waiting for a relief crew) and the station agent brokered a deal that the guy would keep his aggressive dog on leash and continue on to Portland. I gave up. At the next fresh air stop I looked out the window of the SSL to see the dog 20 foot flexi fully extended on a crowded platform tripping people and generally being out of control. I called customer relations after I got home and was told there wasn't much they could do because a report wasn't filed.

After my dog washed out I went to visit my parents in California. I arrived back in Oregon yesterday. A Chihuahua "Service Dog" got on at the same time I did. My father accompanied me to the station with my 10 year old retired Service Dog, Sunny. Sunny was on his best behavior trying to convince me he could still work. The Chihuahua lost its mind when the train approached. After the train stopped he redirected to Sunny. It was barking and lunging as the coach attendant gave her a seat assignment. After I got on I was told to put my walker in the accessible seating area. The Chi was running around dragging its leash. When I went to leave I had to body block the dog from escaping.

I am afraid to take Amtrak when I get another Service Dog.

 

[andersone]

my condolences - such a sad tale,, and you wonder why I worry about non service animals? Perhaps I need to start a Keep Fifi and Fido at home campaign,,,,,,,

 

[Bob Dylan]

my condolences - such a sad tale,, and you wonder why I worry about non service animals? Perhaps I need to start a Keep Fifi and Fido at home campaign,,,,,,,

Like!

 

[Matthew1551]

my condolences - such a sad tale,, and you wonder why I worry about non service animals? Perhaps I need to start a Keep Fifi and Fido at home campaign,,,,,,,

Sure...

 

[Railroad Bill]

my condolences - such a sad tale,, and you wonder why I worry about non service animals? Perhaps I need to start a Keep Fifi and Fido at home campaign,,,,,,,

I would agree although in this case (assuming all the facts here are valid) the conductor did not do his/her job and remove the offending non service animal and report the incident to Amtrak.

Of course, if this had happened to my animal I probably would have left the offending animal laying on the platform along with his owner. (I am very protective of my cat) :angry: