InstagramAriana Grande and her mother, Joan Grande, have a bone to pick with P&O Ferries.
In a lengthy post on her Twitter page, Joan writes how her daughter's dogs "were almost murdered" while entering the U.K. via ferry.
"I was very happy to declare Toulouse and Sirius and proudly presented the documentation to prove that their vaccinations were all in order," Joan writes, noting that Ariana was not with her because her bus had already been cleared to enter the ferry line. "We were, however, immediately stopped by the Boothman telling me that dogs are not allowed to transfer onto the Ferry in a bus. In shock, I explained that I am sure that is the policy, but the policy could not be referring to a private bus, that I have been living on and driving in for three weeks, but meant a public transport bus... He responded in a dismissive and condescending manner, 'I don't care, it says bus and this is a bus'... so, trying not to panic, I explained again, that there is no one from the general public on the bus and it is private transportation."
Joan continues, noting how she then spoke to a manager, but "this man would not listen to reason" so she began asking others at the ferry stop if she could transport the dogs in their car.
"Finally 4 men (angels) in a blue Audi driving back to London from Amsterdam agreed... it just wasn't quite that simple.. the car was full, so I asked two of the men if they wouldn't mind riding on the Ferry in my Bus, while the dogs and I took up their seats... they kindly agreed..." she writes.
"So, as we approached to get our Number for the Ferry line, The French Border people said the dogs are NOT ALLOWED to transfer IN A CAR if not contained in a travel crate..." she continues. "WOW, they never mentioned that before...... SO, still trying to earn the clearance to travel, I quickly went to the bus, pulled the travel crates I have for them, put the dogs in them and ran back to the car .. We got back in the car....... ALL was great... UNTIL a different Boothman said I now have to pay to get the dogs to pass..."
After paying for the dogs, "We then drove up to the next booth, where Angry Manager stopped us and said NO ACCESS. The dogs were denied yet again, making this now the very purposeful 5th attempt to stop me from boarding the Ferry with our dogs..."
"The same very Angry Manager told me to get out of the car and come into the office..." she continues. "He told me the dogs would not be allowed to board the Ferry because they were accusedly not fully vaccinated."
Joan claims the dogs were properly vaccinated in Italy, but the manger refused to accept the Italian paperwork. "THAT WAS IT! I lost my composure... I am embarrassed to say that I became VERY VERY VERY angry," she writes. "And told him that HE WAS WRONG, he was holding me and the dogs hostage from my family and he was taking GREAT PLEASURE in doing so.. He single handedly was detaining me in France for NO REASON and AGAINST MY WILL!"
and here is the proof @POferries. pic.twitter.com/605bFbfKvU
? Joan Grande (@joangrande) June 2, 2015Joan says she then ran back to the bus with the dogs, at which point she claims officials tried to arrest her. "At this point, one man in a yellow jacket said to me, 'If you take the dogs, when you arrive in Dover, they will be KILLED!'"
"Ariana and Frankie now heard what was going on outside of their bus.. when Ariana heard what they said about Killing the Dogs, she almost got herself arrested," Joan writes. "Frankie stepped in, calmed us down and spoke to them … Frankie offered himself in place of me and said he would go with the Police and see us when he could, he said goodbye, took the dogs and got in a car with the Police not knowing what to do, but knowing he would figure it out…. And thankfully he speaks French."
Thankfully, the dogs were able to make it to London following Frankie's own "14 hour saga." "AND TO FURTHER PROVE THAT THE DOGS ALWAYS POSSESSED THE PROPER VACCINATIONS, THEY WENT THROUGH THE EXACT SAME PROCESS AT THE SAME P&O FERRY (@POFERRIES) ENTRANCE POINT," Joan writes. "A MERE 6 HOURS LATER AND WERE GRANTED ACCESS BECAUSE ALL VACCINATIONS WERE IN ORDER..….."
E! News reached out to P&O Ferries for comment but did not receive a response Tuesday. UPDATE: On Wednesday, P&O Ferries Head of press & public relations Brian Rees released the following statement to E! News: "We completely understand and sympathise with Ms Grande's frustration, given her attempts to do the right thing. However, the documents she presented were not valid to bring her pets into the UK. There are only two documents we can accept. One is a Pet Passport, the other is a Third Country Veterinary Certificate. The appropriate verification of treatments must be written into these documents."
Rees continued: "That's why we had no alternative: we had to advise that a local vet should be visited to put everything in order. We carry in the region of 40,000 pets a year between Calais and Dover as a matter of routine. However from time to time we have to decline to carry pets due to irregularities with the documentation stipulated by Defrathat we have to abide by, Defra being the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs."
The company's website states: "If you are travelling with a pet this must be declared at the time of booking and in advance of travel. Arrangements for pets on board and check-in times vary by route and will be advised at the time of booking. Pets (excluding guide dogs) will not be allowed in the passenger areas of the ship. It is your responsibility to provide all necessary documents and make all arrangements, including where necessary quarantine, to satisfy all legal requirements. Failure to do so will prevent your pet from being permitted to travel. Passengers travelling by coach on any of the P&O Ferries routes and foot passengers using our Irish Sea and Short Sea services will not be permitted to travel with pets. Unaccompanied pets will not be accepted on any of our services. In some cases the carriage of animals will require the payment of freight tariffs. Access to your pet during the crossing is at the discretion of the ships' officers."
Grande also wrote about the incident on her Twitter page (tweets contain language that may be offensive to some):
this was unacceptable. @poferries pls have your employees treat people /animals w respect. kindness goes a long way. https://t.co/IQXQCHeb6K
? Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 2, 2015the pups were safe and sound thanks to frankie but it was indeed a terrible experience. no animal / human should be treated that way.. ever.
? Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 2, 2015don't fuck w my puppies. ever..... ??
? Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 2, 2015(Originally published June 2, 2015 at 2:29 p.m. PT)