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The dog owner has to have a disability, physical, mental or emotional, not just feel good having a puppy to cuddle.
1. What is an emotional support animal (also called “assistance animal”)?
An emotional support animal is not a pet. An emotional support animal is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. The person seeking the emotional support animal must have a verifiable disability (the reason cannot just be a need for companionship). The animal is viewed as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHA or FHAct) to those housing communities that have a “no pets” rule. In other words, just as a wheelchair provides a person with a physical limitation the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, an emotional support animal provides a person with a mental or psychiatric disability the same opportunity to live independently. Most times, an emotional support animal will be seen as a reasonable accommodation for a person with such a disability. Failure to make reasonable accommodations by changing rules or policies can be a violation of the FHA unless the accommodation would be an undue financial burden on the landlord or cause a fundamental alteration to the premises.
Right. What you posted says essentially the same- an emotional support animal does not have to be trained to do specific tasks, but they do have to be used as medical treatment or therapy, not just fulfill the role of what most of us would consider to be a pet.
But since the owner does not have to show proof or evidence of medical treatment or therapy to either the host or Airbnb, hosts are back to square one.
I recently had a wonderful group of folks come visit from another part of my state. They were also Super hosts and had amazing communication. After I left my glowing review, my housekeeper began finding dog hair everywhere. When I came by the house to check on it for the next guest, I found a dog toy under a chair. I couldn’t believe a super host would do that! I also have had guests bring service dogs without telling me, and getting offended when I called them on it.
Be warned that per Airbnb rules, guests are not required to tell you if they bring a service dog. I’m not sure what it means when you say that you “called them on it” but doing the wrong thing could land you in hot water.
When I called them and said you guys have a dog and we have in our listing that we don’t allow dogs, is when they told me it was a service dog. I had no idea they were bringing a dog but am aware that it is allowed. They should have told me in advance that they were bringing one.
No Vest, – not 2 years old prior to training, no training certificate – it’s NOT A SERVICE DOG. Emotional support animals are not trained to serve, they simply exist. I’ll accept an “emotional support” animal when my “emotional support Cobra” is accepted by AirBnb!!
How does Airbnb know if they checked in? Seems like it would be the host’s word against the guest’s. Say the check-in window is from 2-6. Guest doesn’t show, cancels at 3, saying they arrived and found the place filthy and left.
These guests I just discover via instagram , have 2 puppies that have there own Ig pages and the owners are big starzzz, yachts and records and 343k followers etc. They probably had both puppies with them and if you look at the Ig pages you can see the ages of the dogs. If you want to look at these “Service Dogs” dm me.
I am tangling with Air again over this becauset now its been changed to cancelled with full refund… I wonder if the review will remain “hidden”" I doubt it
Jesus and Carolina never stayed at or saw Tiny Tiki Retro Hideaway. At the meet place where I guide guests to Tiny Tiki from, I plainly saw that they had at least one small puppy in their car. So I told them they couldn’t come, because it’s very dangerous here for small dogs and medium sized cats. We have a “No Pets- No Dogs” rule because we are in a wildlife habitat and the natural predators are very hungry and ferocious. These guests did not perceive that these facts mattered to them and their very small, young un-housebroken fur babies. Jesus demanded a full refund and procured a questionable “service dog” certificate for their puppy in order to get it. Next quotes are from the site: “The truth is that service dogs are expected to be well-trained and to accompany someone who truly needs it. Service dogs are required to be trained in certain tasks to assist the owner as well as obedience, manners, and public skills. Under the law, you are allowed to train your own dog to be a service dog.” There is no time restraint, either. You can claim your dog was trained in one day! At the age of 10 weeks! It is generally understood that service dogs should be house-trained. “No training certification is required to register your service dog at USAServiceDogs.org and receive a service dog registration kit. We ask that you be honest about your dog’s abilities.”
You are right RR I’m not going any further other than writing a review, and a response to theirs if warranted. Many thanks to EVERYBODY for all your support, info and advice! I think the main thing we learned here is that any dog, no matter how young can be a certified designated service dog in the eyes of Airbnb.
I added my review which shows on his profile. His review of me is hidden, but I read it off the email… he claims I rejected their service “little tiny poodle dog” because my place is too fancy. “horrible host”
ps the $ math is 0 versus 417, if I’d had and probably would have had a normal guest.
Good for you. Cute furry or not, you did the right thing. Their problem if they can’t read or think they are above someone’s rules. DO NOT REFUND one cent! Sometimes money is the only thing people understand.
