Scarcity of pet-friendly cabins on Marine Atlantic ferry frustrating for 1 pet owner after rough trip

Danielle Irvine said she adopted Wile E. Coyote when he was nine months old. (Submitted by Danielle Irvine)

After a rough boat ride with her special needs dog, one traveller is frustrated with how Marine Atlantic treats customers with pets.

Danielle Irvine booked a pet-friendly cabin for her March 19 trip months in advance so she could travel in comfort with her rescue dog Wile E. Coyote, a 75-pound malamute-golden-St. Bernard mix.

However, she said, due to weather delays that postponed the trip, she wasn't able to get her reserved cabin. Instead, her dog had to spend the 12-hour trip locked in her vehicle.

"They are so cavalier as to say you can just stick your pet here, you can just do this or you can just get off. And that was literally the party line from every single person. So that is clearly the Marine Atlantic stance," Irvine told CBC News.

The only alternative option was a kennel.

Irving was less than impressed with how Marine Atlantic handled the situation when she told them her dog couldn't be confined in small spaces. She said a manager told her she could also delay her trip for another two days when another crossing would have a pet-friendly cabin available.

Irvine said she couldn't delay the trip any more and her dog ended up in her vehicle for the duration of the voyage. She said the kennel wasn't an accessible or safe space.

Irvine says when he checked on her dog after 12 hours in her vehicle, he was distressed and the car was covered in drool. (Submitted by Danielle Irvine)

She said in other circumstances, if leaving a pet in a vehicle, the owner can be charged with neglect.

"That is actually like an abusive situation. Unless you've got a pet who's totally cool and is going to snooze and be relaxed, right," she said.

Irvine had a downgraded cabin but she was told she couldn't bring her dog with her because other passengers have allergies.

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"So in the end what they said to me was, 'the cleanliness of this cabin was more important than the mental and physical health' of my animal and my own mental and physical health because of the stress of this situation," said Irvine.

Now, every time she brings her dog near her car he panics, she said.

A pet-friendly cabin on their return trip also isn't guaranteed, she added.

Marine Atlantic spokesperson Darrell Mercer says due to dimensions of the vessel, the company is limited to the number of cabins it can designate as pet-friendly. (Marine Atlantic/Twitter)

Now, Irvine said she wants to see changes with how Marine Atlantic handles travelling with pets.

"I need them to remember that they are an essential service and not a destination, and so they need to actually look at the bigger picture of the traveling public."

Space is limited on ferry

Marine Atlantic spokesperson Darrell Mercer said the company tries to accommodate passengers but it isn't always possible.

The MV Blue Puttees and MV Highlanders have eight pet friendly cabins, he said, with seven reserved for general passengers and one for commercial drivers. The pet-friendly cabins sell out very quickly and some have been booked a year in advance.

Unfortunately, Mercer said, there's high demand for those cabins.

The designated cabins, which are also for commercial drivers, people with disabilities and general passengers, is limited by available space on a vessel, said Mercer. The company also keeps the pet-friendly cabins away from the other cabins.

Mercer said when the company's newest ferry comes into service this summer there will be 31 pet-friendly cabins.

On the shorter trips, he said, there haven't been many instances where a pet has stayed in a vehicle.

On longer voyages where a pet-friendly cabin isn't available, he said, Marine Atlantic recommends people keep their pets in kennels as opposed to vehicles.

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