Dogs now allowed in Washington State Ferries’ interior cabins under new pet policy

Washington State Ferries (WSF) has initiated a six-month trial allowing dogs to accompany their owners around all areas on the vessels, except for the galley.

Positive feedback from passengers and employees has helped this trial policy move forward. This is welcome news for the 42% of Washington residents who own at least one dog, according to TotalVet.

During this trial, dogs must remain on leashes at all times. All other pets must stay in a crate or carrier. It is recommended that large dogs remain on the floor, while small dogs can be on someone’s lap or in a carrier. Owners must control their pets and clean up after them. Crew members may direct pets to be moved to an outside deck or vehicle if needed for safety or behavior reasons.

As always, service animals are welcomed everywhere, as required by state and federal law. Owners must keep their service animal under control, and the animal must be housebroken.

Employees are authorized to ask:

• If the animal is a service animal.
• If the service animal is required because of a disability.
• What task the animal is trained to perform.

If you have any questions about service animals, please contact the WSF ADA Accessibility Coordinator at (206) 515-3437 or wsdotada@wsdot.wa.gov.

Existing pet policy

WSF is aware that it is impractical to require walk-on passengers and their leashed pets to remain on the auto deck for the duration of a voyage. To provide shelter to these patrons, walk-on passengers with leashed pets are permitted to board vessels and remain in exterior passenger areas, including shelter decks, promenade decks, and sun decks. The new policy, however, does allow for leashed dogs to stay in the interior cabin with owners.

Passengers with pets are allowed to board from inside the passenger terminal areas where overhead loading is in place:

• Bainbridge Island
• Bremerton
• Edmonds
• Kingston
• Seattle

At all other terminals, passengers with pets must board on the car deck and may gain access to exterior passenger spaces of the vessel via the interior cabin.

Walk-on passengers with pets who choose to remain on the auto deck must stay with the animal for the duration of the sailing and ensure it is properly restrained.

This trial policy, which is set to expire in February 2026, will help determine whether the new rules should become permanent. WSF encourages feedback.

Nate Connors is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Follow him on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.

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