pets

[amamba]

Rules are there to be obeyed, not to be disragarded! Gettiing away with breaking a rule is a dishonourable thing and should not even be tried!

I disagree. It depends on what the rule is. There were certainly plenty of rules in history that we would consider now to be discriminatory and ridiculous - such as the ban on interracial marriage that existed well into the middle of the 20th century. Life isn't so black and white.

However, that being said, I don't think railfans should be breaking the rules on amtrak regarding pets & service animals.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Rules are there to be obeyed, not to be disragarded! Gettiing away with breaking a rule is a dishonourable thing and should not even be tried! In fact, I think that those "civilised countries" should also adopt a No Comfort Animals Whatsoever policy on their trains like Amtrak! They have a great chance of causing high disruption on trains and would only make a trainman's job harder.

Good thing our Founding Fathers did'nt agree with this! Also,Anti-Slavery/ Women's Sufferage/ and Union Activists, the Civil Rights and War on Poverty Marchers, the Anti-War Peace Advocates, Gay Rights Activists etc. etc. etc. Long as Most Americans Don't Feel This Way our Country will Continue to Progress! The Status Quo is for the Rich, the Afraid and the Dying!!!

 

[JayPea]

Rules are there to be obeyed, not to be disragarded! Gettiing away with breaking a rule is a dishonourable thing and should not even be tried! In fact, I think that those "civilised countries" should also adopt a No Comfort Animals Whatsoever policy on their trains like Amtrak! They have a great chance of causing high disruption on trains and would only make a trainman's job harder.

Good thing our Founding Fathers did'nt agree with this! Also,Anti-Slavery/ Women's Sufferage/ and Union Activists, the Civil Rights and War on Poverty Marchers, the Anti-War Peace Advocates, Gay Rights Activists etc. etc. etc. Long as Most Americans Don't Feel This Way our Country will Continue to Progress! The Status Quo is for the Rich, the Afraid and the Dying!!!

I agree with this, though I don't exactly put the no pets on Amtrak rule on the same plane as all those ideals Jim mentioned.

 

[JoeBas]

Rules are there to be obeyed, not to be disragarded! Gettiing away with breaking a rule is a dishonourable thing and should not even be tried! In fact, I think that those "civilised countries" should also adopt a No Comfort Animals Whatsoever policy on their trains like Amtrak! They have a great chance of causing high disruption on trains and would only make a trainman's job harder.

Good thing our Founding Fathers did'nt agree with this! Also,Anti-Slavery/ Women's Sufferage/ and Union Activists, the Civil Rights and War on Poverty Marchers, the Anti-War Peace Advocates, Gay Rights Activists etc. etc. etc. Long as Most Americans Don't Feel This Way our Country will Continue to Progress! The Status Quo is for the Rich, the Afraid and the Dying!!!

Yes, by all means, give me Chihuahua Pee on my roomette floor, or give me DEATH!!!!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I explained why this rule should be obeyed! Don't compare it to a ridiculous rule like one which would ban the website! What if the OP's dog relieved itself in the bag?

Wouldn't that make other passengers extremly angry?

 

[me_little_me]

And we must never forget the overriding cause of most rules. If poopie-Q bites another passenger or scares a kid who then falls and gets hurt, who is going to be sued? Not just poopie-Q's owner but Amtrak. Since Amtrak "allowed the dangerous animal on the train" and "failed to protect my client's innocent child from that vicious creature" resulting in "potentially fatal rabies or other disease" as well as "severe and potentially life threatening scrapes" on a "dirty germ-infested floor which Amtrak failed to clean as often as demanded in Amtrak's own standards manual", my client requests that Amtrak "pay a settlement of not less than $1M in compensatory damages" or I will seek far more in "punitive damages" as well as the "pain and suffering" that my client's 300 relatives suffered when they learned of the "unwarranted maniacal attack by an unfettered animal" on that "small innocent creature".

I should have been a lawyer.

 

[Donctor]

Rules are there to be obeyed, not to be disragarded! Gettiing away with breaking a rule is a dishonourable thing and should not even be tried!

Life isn't black and white.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

maybe what amtrak should do since via rail does it don't know if they still due but on trains with checked baggage put the dog cat etc in the baggage car and at service stops where the train is serviced or smoke stops get off and check on the dog give it food or water etc.

 

[Montanan]

Yes, by all means, give me Chihuahua Pee on my roomette floor, or give me DEATH!!!!

Look over there ... see that toddler getting off the train with his parents? Those are the people who just vacated the room you're going to occupy, and a few minutes ago Mom changed the toddler's diaper on the very roomette seat that you're about to sit on! The track was kind of rough coming into the station, so there was probably some spillage, but hey ... at least there wasn't a Chihuahua on the floor.

Bottom line: it's people who are the real animals, and if you're paranoid about cleanliness you ought to spend a little more time worrying about them.

 

[Old MM]

Service animals should be there for the person who really needs them, not for the person who just wants to take their pet everywhere and gets a letter from a corrupt practicioner. Household pets on trains are not comparable to the civil rights movement, or other similar evnts. Individual rights should not trample on the rights of others, to the extent possible. Others may disagree but it seems that having "rights" somehow has gotten to mean that everyone can do what they want, all the time? When did this happen? Rights carry with them corresponding responsibilities. If I had a dog we wouldn't have taken our recent EB trip unless we had a friend to keep him or her. Also many people have severe animal allergies, and can be made miserable by the exposure. I'd be more understanding about having allergic symptoms knowing that someone had their Seeing Eye dog nearby, less understanding if someone was just scamming the system.

 

[Ryan]

Yes, by all means, give me Chihuahua Pee on my roomette floor, or give me DEATH!!!!

Look over there ... see that toddler getting off the train with his parents? Those are the people who just vacated the room you're going to occupy, and a few minutes ago Mom changed the toddler's diaper on the very roomette seat that you're about to sit on! The track was kind of rough coming into the station, so there was probably some spillage, but hey ... at least there wasn't a Chihuahua on the floor.

Bottom line: it's people who are the real animals, and if you're paranoid about cleanliness you ought to spend a little more time worrying about them.

Possibly, but I'm not allergic to baby poo. I am allergic to dog hair.

Pets can stay off of the train just fine.

 

[Montanan]

I am allergic to dog hair.

Pets can stay off of the train just fine.

True story: I have a friend who has a severe peanut allergy, and at a public venue a few weeks ago he inadvertently ingested a minuscule amount of peanuts ... might have even just been dust from someone else's bag of peanuts, or something. Within a few minutes his airway had nearly completely closed, and he ended up in the hospital. If he'd been far from medical help, there's a chance he could have died.

So following the above logic, it's clear that Amtrak should immediately ban all peanuts from its trains, and forcibly remove anyone who brings the dreaded legume on board. After all, a peanut allergy is among the most dangerous of allergic reactions, and peanuts are far less comforting or therapeutic than many pets.

But ironically, I have the feeling that a lot of the same people who would rail against pets on public transport, would also rail against a peanut ban -- they'd complain about society's encroaching Big Brother mentality, and argue for people to show a little personal responsibility. Other people.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Peanuts are not alive. Dogs can mess with you, and you can't just stay away.

 

[AlanB]

maybe what amtrak should do since via rail does it don't know if they still due but on trains with checked baggage put the dog cat etc in the baggage car and at service stops where the train is serviced or smoke stops get off and check on the dog give it food or water etc.

Amtrak was doing what VIA does, until the new laws mentioned earlier in this topic came along and ended that practice. I'm not sure if the new baggage cars will be equipped with AC or not. I suspect that they will have a modicum of heating at least, so if they have both heat & AC it might be possible for Amtrak to reconsider the no pet policy. But I wouldn't hold my breath that they will change things either.

 

[JoeBas]

Look over there ... see that toddler getting off the train with his parents? Those are the people who just vacated the room you're going to occupy, and a few minutes ago Mom changed the toddler's diaper on the very roomette seat that you're about to sit on! The track was kind of rough coming into the station, so there was probably some spillage, but hey ... at least there wasn't a Chihuahua on the floor.

Bottom line: it's people who are the real animals, and if you're paranoid about cleanliness you ought to spend a little more time worrying about them.

Look, you don't have to tell me about children - aside from having them myself (and teaching them to be neat and well behaved in public at the same time), I just had a trip back on 19 last week in a roomette across the hall from a family of four (2 adults, 4ish year old, 1ish year old), who completely trashed not only their roomette (to the point that you couldn't even see the floor/carpet through the crumbs and crap, which were tracked all the way into the hallway), but also their dining car table at every meal (all the butter melted in grabby hands and thrown on the floor, sugar packets opened and dumped on the floor, etc - oh, and no tip to boot).

Seeing as how I somehow survived that ordeal, though, you can tell I'm far from "paranoid" about cleanliness. I do, however, have a couple of salient points:

1) Children do not, as a matter of due course or nature, urinate or defecate directly on the ground or whatever ground-like substitute they happen to be near.

2) While I realize that children can be just as dirty as pets, I have no control over their presence on trains (nor should I, or do I want to - the wonder on my 2 year old's face on the train is something I wouldn't trade for anything). At present, pets, however, are NOT allowed in the passenger areas, and I think it's best to keep it that way - why introduce ANOTHER potential source of problems, issues and mess?