By Kristina Stucki

Contributor

Washington State Ferries is getting serious about its pet policy – which is that pets may not be in the main passenger cabin outside of a pet carrier, and repeat offenders may lose their ability to use the ferry altogether if they continue to ignore the warnings and rules posted onboard.

“We will be enforcing the pet policy more robustly,” WSF spokesperson John Vezina told the Journal this week. “Non-service animals are allowed in exterior passenger areas, including shelter, promenade, and/or sun decks, but not inside other areas where people are eating and sitting.”

Passengers with animals outside of a pet carrier should be prepared for crew members to ask if it is a service animal, if it’s required because of a disability and what specific task the service dog is trained to perform. Animals inside of pet carriers are allowed in all areas of the ferry. Animals outside of pet carriers may be transported on a leash to the sun decks or sheltered decks (the area between the main passenger deck and the sun deck on each end of the larger ferries), but may not remain indoors.

“As with all policies, we’ve worked to strike a balance,” Vezina continued. “In this case, between pet owners, especially those without vehicles, being able to travel with their pets (as opposed to service animals, which are exempted) and those who worry about being bitten or the hygiene of animals in the galley or on passenger seats.”

Although this policy is not new and is visibly posted on the ferries, pets are still frequently seen inside the passenger cabin. When an internal email to all deck personnel regarding the pet policy was recently posted on social media, many comments were quick to push back, citing how long they’ve been bringing their dogs onto the ferry, or that their animals are better behaved than the children running around the cabin, or that ferry employees should be more worried about running the ferry than whether there are dogs on board.

Ironically, that’s a very similar argument ferry workers are making in favor of the policy. They want to be able to focus on helping passengers safely travel to their destination – not spend their time cleaning up after pets and managing any incidents or complaints that come along with them.

“Daily, dogs urinate and defecate in the cabin,” one worker explained when asked if a certain incident had caused the internal WSF email regarding pet policy enforcement. “People complain about allergies. I don’t think they are waiting for a serious incident to reaffirm a policy that already should be enforced.”

The email, sent by Beth Stowell, director of Marine Operations, to all deck personnel, reminded captains that it’s their responsibility to enforce these policies and that “instances of non-compliance [should] be addressed appropriately to maintain the integrity of operations.” Crew members are instructed to “take decisive action if a pet’s behavior poses a direct threat or violates the policy.”

A WSF captain, who asked to remain unnamed, explained that passengers are incorrect if they think this policy is unenforceable.

“The captain has the authority to trespass any person for any reason,” he explained, referring to the “no trespass” notice that expels passengers from being in specified areas for specified periods of time. “I’m at the point where I’m just going to start trespassing. Rather than wasting my time reminding people about a long-standing, clearly-posted policy that I’ve seen them violate again and again, I’m going to say you’ve had enough warnings. I’m done.”

One islander spoke out about how exclusionary the WSF’s pet policy is.

“It’s disappointing,” Amber Lewis said in an interview. “I can’t leave my dog at home – what if the ferry is canceled? That’s part of the issue that many islanders worry about. I have a heart defect I was born with, so my disability isn’t visible, but it’s real and very limiting. I can walk, if I rest often, but no way could I stand on a rocking ferry deck for an hour.”

Lewis suggested that perhaps a single line specifying exclusions for those with disabilities could resolve this issue, one she is certain affects many more than just her.

“This is a public highway, our ferry system,” she said. “My tax money pays for it, yet my type of situation isn’t accommodated. I know others must face this challenge.”

Other solutions suggested include possibly a pet area on the ferry, or banning dogs who have caused problems and allowing those who aren’t bothering anyone. The ferry captain who mentioned trespassing said these scenarios will only create more work for the crew and create more complications and problems rather than solutions.

“I don’t know if there’s any reason to provide a pet area,” he countered. “You’re allowed to have a pet carrier. You can go anywhere you want as long as they’re in a carrier. There are a lot of collapsible pet carriers that fold up.”

KingCamp PETS Ranger XXL Dog Tent, or Ruff n’ Ruffus Portable Foldable Playpen XL may be examples of what he’s talking about. They both collapse and pop up similar to a tent, and weigh less than five pounds.

“Manage a leashed dog and a carrier?” Lewis laughed when asked about this option. “Sure, maybe if I had an assistant.”

Interestingly, some visitors to the islands have good things to say about the policy and see it as a step in the right direction for pet owners.

“We were happy to know that pets were allowed above deck!” Pamela Li, writer for “The Markus Project: The Reactive Dog’s Guide” to the PNW told the Journal. “It was such a refreshing change for us. We’re from Vancouver, Canada, and our ferries restrict dogs to the car deck only, so it was such a nice change to have him in the upper passenger deck when we visited WA! Our ferries have now started a trial of allowing pets above deck on some sailings, and I hope they adopt it across all sailings soon.”

WSF’s full pet policy can be found at www.wsdot.wa.gov.