A service dog has earned a new honor for being such a good boy.
Sarge, 14, has been granted Diamond status in Carnival Cruise Line’s Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) Club, the company said in a news release.
The Belgian Malinois was honored during an event for Platinum and Diamond members of the club on the Carnival Celebration. It was the dog’s 55th cruise and he has spent more than 200 nights on board a Carnival ship.
This Retired Army Dog Has Been on 55 Cruises — and Now He Has Diamond Status on Carnival https://t.co/FM8QbOCjbt
— Travel + Leisure (@TravelLeisure) April 13, 2023
>> Need something to lift your spirits? Read more uplifting news
“What could be more fun than celebrating a beloved four-legged friend as a Diamond cruiser?” Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy said in a news release. “We’re proud to celebrate and support veterans at Carnival, as the cruise line that carries the most service members, and I’m delighted to count Sarge among them.”
Service dogs are the only animals allowed on a Carnival ship and are “individually trained to meet disability-related needs by performing tasks like guiding a blind person, alerting a deaf person, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks,” the company’s website states.
Sarge is owned by Justin Marcum Sr., who also has Diamond status in the club.
Marcum told USA Today that Sarge’s favorite destination gives the service dog a chance to run around streams and chase fish.
“He loves going to Alaska, and I think it’s probably one of the better times he had,” Marcum said.
Marcum is a retired U.S. Army military police officer who has owned Sarge since the dog was a puppy. When Marcum suffered a brain injury in an explosion, Sarge was deputized as the retired soldier’s service animal in 2013.
Marcum said he has been cruising for about eight years and takes about eight or nine trips a year, mostly with Carnival, USA Today reported.
