See my answer above.
But you are right in what you are implying. Only if they are idiots will they fail the test here.
They must say (really ‘write’ as your only hope is that they make a mistake, so you want these Q&A on the platform) ‘yes’ to Question 1.
For question 2 they must write something plausible like, “The dog senses when my heart’s rhythm changes and I can take my medication.” or “The dog senses when I engage in certain repetitive activities and can break my pattern.” I’m making these answers up, but they seem plausible enough that you or I wouldn’t be able to persuasively argue that this is not a service animal. So it seems pretty easy to pass off a pet as a service animal.
Where I think an ordinary pet would get ‘caught’ is by their behavior, for which the Host can take action:
From Airbnb’s accessibility policy:
- A guest’s service animal must not be:
- Out of control
- Unhousebroken
- Left alone at the listing without prior approval
- Allowed into areas that are considered unauthorized to the guest
- Allowed in a public space without being harnessed, leashed, or tethered and not under the guest’s control
But if a guest had a well trained dog that was not really a service animal they could get away with it.
BTW, I’m not sure what ‘out of control’ means but if I saw a ‘service dog’ that was excitable and wagging its tail and seeking attention from strangers I would be pretty sure it is not a service dog, but I’m not sure if that qualifies as ‘out of control.’
I just found this (Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA) but I don’t find it helpful:
Q27. What does under control mean? Do service animals have to be on a leash? Do they have to be quiet and not bark?
A. The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times. In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability. In the school (K-12) context and in similar settings, the school or similar entity may need to provide some assistance to enable a particular student to handle his or her service animal. The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices. In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair may use a long, retractable leash to allow her service animal to pick up or retrieve items. She may not allow the dog to wander away from her and must maintain control of the dog, even if it is retrieving an item at a distance from her. Or, a returning veteran who has PTSD and has great difficulty entering unfamiliar spaces may have a dog that is trained to enter a space, check to see that no threats are there, and come back and signal that it is safe to enter. The dog must be off leash to do its job, but may be leashed at other times. Under control also means that a service animal should not be allowed to bark repeatedly in a lecture hall, theater, library, or other quiet place. However, if a dog barks just once, or barks because someone has provoked it, this would not mean that the dog is out of control.