While pets aren’t welcome at the Disney Parks, there are various safe ways to involve your pet in your Walt Disney World vacation.
Related: A Complete Guide To Service Animals at Disney Parks
Four select Walt Disney World Resort hotels allow up to two dogs for a nightly fee and include an adorable Pluto-themed welcome kit with food bowls, mats, puppy pee-pads, a dog tag, mini-plastic bags, and a pet-specific “Do Not Disturb” sign.
Alternatively, your pets can live the high life boarding at Best Friends Pet Care, a luxury pet Resort on-property at Walt Disney World.
Unfortunately, some Guests don’t choose these pet-friendly options, which recently led to a tragedy at a Disney Park.

An anonymous veterinary employee shared a Yelp review a customer left for their employer in a Vet Tech support community on Reddit. The review complains that the employees called the cops and animal control after their dog died in an “unfortunate accident.” Still, the employee reports that the dog passed away after being left in a hot car in a parking lot at Walt Disney World.
A client who left their dog in a hot car all day to go to Disney left this review for our clinic 🙂 from VetTech
In the comments, Reddit user u/busangcf explained that the customers were new to the clinic and brought the dog in after it had passed away in the hot car. The user also reported two cats were also in the vehicle but survived, writing:
Owners were new clients who brought in their dog DOA after leaving it in their car in the parking lot while they enjoyed a Disney day 🙃. They also had two cats in the car btw (cats lived though). Funny how they’re so “poor” that they can’t afford day boarding for their pets so they leave them in a hot car all day, but they can apparently afford tickets to one of the most expensive theme parks in the US. And now we’re the bad guys because we immediately reported them to the authorities. I love clients.

The employee was unsure if the customers surrendered the living cats when the police arrived on the scene but witnessed animal control with two pet carriers and paperwork for the accused to complete:
I’m not completely sure, but when they were talking to police outside the clinic I did see the cops have them take out the two cat carriers and fill out some papers. So hopefully that was the start of taking them away or something.
There is no official report filed involving Walt Disney World in this tragic incident as the Guests did not report their dog’s alleged death until arriving at the veterinary clinic. The only account of the alleged incident is from the Reddit user.

If you decide to take your furry friends on a Walt Disney World vacation, please be sure to use a boarding service or stay at a pet-friendly hotel to ensure a safe and healthy trip for the whole family.