I agree with you. People who don’t need service animals yet claim they do are causing skepticism much like people who don’t have food allergies yet claim they do.
Let’s see, I have accommodated service dogs, a rabbit, a parrot, and a hedgehog. From what I understand of the law here you CANNOT ban service dogs, or ask for certification , proof etc. Very unfair in my opinion for many different reasons.
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You could ask what her 10 lb. service dog is trained to do because if it is a “service animal” (as opposed to an “emotional support animal”), it is trained to perform a specific task for it’s owner, and you are entitled to know what it is.
If you’re an in-house host-owner, you do not have to allow a service or emotional animal in your home, so if you “don’t really want to allow” pets/animals, then don’t. There are obviously things you can say to deter the guest from pursuing your rental.
Potential guests aren’t going to want to stay in your rental if it’s clear they are not welcome.
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I was thrown out of Costco for my 7 pound Maltese in my shoulder bag, yet always see every and sundry manner of dog walking around Costco. Apparently it’s easy to get in. All they had to do at the door was tell them it was a service animal, then they are allowed entry. No questions asked. I couldn’t bring myself to be dishonest.
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Aw, but that’s probably because it would have interrupted the flow of traffic of the shoppers. They would have all been stopping to ooh-n-ahh over your little cutie-lootie.
I always do when I see a fluffy-luffy ball of white fur. 
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Thank you for very much for your comments. “Service dog” must be an American term, I have not come across it here in Ireland. I am also not aware what kind of laws we have here regarding accommodating such animals, I must check it out. Being more used to dogs working as farm dogs and guard dogs I pointed out (to the potential guest) that we don’t have a garden, and asked would it cause any problems. She eventually replied saying she had made other arrangements. I understand that people with special requirements may be reluctant to give details but I would have been a lot more enthusiastic about hosting her if she had told me a little bit more about herself.
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We have a dog and a cat and both are not good with other animals, so we decline ANY animals on our property.
Sorry, this has nothing to do with the owner or animal, it has to do with ME and MY animals.
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Great NewYorker article about the unavoidable legal obligations being imposed on society by owners of “emotional support animals.” Think you can decline a guest with an alpaca, a snake, a pig… or any other type of animal being called an “emotional support animal”? It may not be quite as easy as you think – and author Patricia Marx has proven this with some unusual field studies:
Pets Allowed http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/pets-allowed
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Who said anything about denying a legitimate service dog? If they can provide proof then I’d welcome them. I will deny the ones who are obviously faking it because they get defensive and can’t show documentation.
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There is no such thing as documentation for a service animal. All you are allowed to do is ask if the dog is required because of a disability and what task it performs.
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I knew you were going to say that 
Then they aren’t staying at my house. I’ve got allergies
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I assume you have documentation for your “allergies”.
What info do you need? Guest’s have a right to privacy re their health in particular. It’s none of any hosts business to know why a person needs a service animal.
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What about if you have your own service animal that would potentially react badly to a guest’s service animal? Is that allowed? What if your service animal will most likely be savaged by my own pet? Will I be penalised?
Honestly, what a set of complete nonsense.
Good, the potential guest made other arrangements, so all’s well!
I’m glad it worked out for you.
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I had a LTR inquiry a few months ago where the grad student wanted to bring her “emotional support rabbit”. 
Mind you, this is a shared apartment with another student.
Service dogs are trained to behave, my sisters new dog, just passed his tests. She had to cancel plans to go away until the test was passed. I think there are a lot of people who are looking fo reasons to discriminate. Allergies, asthma etc. My niece had severe asthma as a child, intensive care sick, none of our dogs, birds or cats triggered GP her asthma. My sister has flown with her service dog Bruce, who sadly passed far too young with cancer.
It’s sad when I see discrimination, be it service dogs, gay couples, Chinese, elderly, race based etc. My worst guests were in none of these groups, and used their white middle class privilege to break rules and expect concierge service in a self catering cottage.
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I have an emotional support animal (dog with proper registration in CA and Drs note) and the only thing businesses in the US are allowed to ask is "what kind of service does he perform’. However, in Europe I routinely get laughed at, bc it is SO not a thing outside the US. I was actually denied boarding on a Lufthansa connection in Frankfurt with my service dog bc the the German government does not recognize emotional support animals (after 12 hours Air France stepped in bc they do recognize emotional support animals) These ‘laws’ are different all over the world, my dog has been to 15 countries, but always with a direct flight to/from the US where they must honor US laws.
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This particular guest was new to Airbnb and had no previous reviews. Before I accept such guests I like to have a little friendly chat to see if our place would be suitable for them and to get to know them a bit, after all they are going to stay in my house. If I was travelling abroad I would not expect people there to be familiar with my country’s terms and laws and would be happy to explain. As I said I had never come across service dogs before.
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Assuming you’re outside the US you don’t have the same legal requirement to accept these animals. @Barbara_Plesch
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