BC Ferries has launched a pet pilot program to allow dogs and cats on upper-outside decks. For the next three months, pets will be allowed on the upper deck of a BC Ferries’ Sunshine Coast to Power River route aboard the Malaspina Sky.
“Plans to expand to other routes will depend on ‘pawsitive’ customer feedback,” BC Ferries staff said in a press release. The “You Barked, We Listened” pet pilot launched due to repeated requests from pet parents, it said.
Responding to Feedback
Currently, all animals (except guide, service, or emotional support dogs) must remain in your vehicle or in a designated Pet Area. It’s something that dog parents sometimes refer to as “‘doggie dungeon” and “the cell”.
Pet parents must keep their dogs on a leash at all times and cats must be in a travel carrier while on the outer decks for this pilot project. However, it’s a huge improvement over the dungeon.
I have travelled on the B.C. ferry countless times with my dogs and we never left the car, unless directed to the lower deck. Here, car passengers couldn’t leave pets in their vehicles. They had to go to the designated pet area.
The Little Box
Back in October 2017, CBC News reported BC Ferries’ “new rules”. Passengers were not allowed to access their vehicles on enclosed decks during the voyage. They could request a spot on the upper car deck, but vehicles weren’t able to be accommodated. Needless to say, dog parents were concerned.
Many passengers avoid taking their dogs into the noisy enclosure for pets on the vehicle deck, including Sue McDonagh. “I’ve been in it once, and I wouldn’t take [my dog Silva] back into it,” she told CBC News. “It’s too small a confined area for a big dog, so if you’ve got two or three big dogs in there, you’re looking at some trouble.”
“The rooms in there seem to be just metal benches and stuff…It’s almost like a jail cell … It does smell, because of dogs — some dogs just pee in there,” said Omid Manoucheri, traveling with his dog Sierra. “It’s not super gross, but I don’t know how often — I’m sure they hose it down once in a while.”
Michelle Stone, traveling with her German Shepherd mix, Freyja, described it as “quite loud and you can kind of feel the vibrations of the motors. It’s a little box. It’s not very pleasant for people either”.
BC Ferries explained to the CBC that it can’t allow dogs to pass through the passenger cabin. This is because of the food services aboard the boats. A spokesperson said it comes down to a Health Canada regulation. But neighboring Washington State Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling said “We are happy to see our four-footed friends on our ferry boats here in Washington State, however they’re not allowed in the passenger cabin, unless they’re a service dog … You know, it doesn’t cause us a whole lot of trouble.”
Let’s hope BC Ferries follows in Washington State Ferries wake and it heeds plenty of ‘pawsitive’ feedback.
