The host's large dog attacked our little dog in the house we rented.

[Tiffanie3]

Hi community, 

The host's large dog attacked our little dog in the house we rented. I'd love some help & some perspective.

We rented a chalet for my birthday weekend, for 4 days, $1200. The hosts live in the downstairs apartment with their dog. We are dog lovers so we had no issue with that at all. We check in on Thursday evening, on Friday evening their large dog enters the home and attacks our little 5 pound yorkie. Their front door does not close properly unless locked, the wind blows it open (unbeknownst to us), and their dog was loose. I'll save everyone the gory details... long story short; we rushed our dog to the vet, incurred $375 in vet bills, he was in critical condition for the first 24hrs, and we spent all weekend caring for him. It was a traumatic experience, we did not sleep well as we were surveying his breathing. We wanted to leave immediately, but decided to stay since we had paid so much & did not want to move the dog on the travel back home. At the time, we were in shock. In the end, we left one day early as we were no longer comfortable in the home. 

Has anyone experienced this? 

Do we have recourse for the rental as well as the vet bill? 

Thank you

[Robb4]

Where exactly did the attack occur? Inside your rental area? A shared area? Outside?

[Tiffanie3]

Hi Robb, 

Thanks for your message. 

It occured in the property we rented. Their front door doesn't close shut properly, the wind blows it open. Dog was loose outside, and got inside via the opened front door.

[Jeff158]

Hi @Tiffanie3

Is the host willing to pay your vet bill

Is the host giving you a discount on your stay

If you are not satisfied with the hosts response you should contact airbnb, the number is on your booking confirmation.

If I was the host I would be mortified, pay your vet bill and refund your stay.

[Tiffanie3]

More specifically, it occurred in the kitchen. 

[Tiffanie3]

Thanks so much for your replies!

I have messaged in the resolution center over 24hrs ago, I added photos of my dog from last week and yesterday, as well as the vet bill. 

No response whatesoever from the host...

Can someone tell me how to contact airbnb? 

Thanks again for your help!

[David126]

So the Hosts were not there during your stay but the dog was left loose?

[Tiffanie3]

The hosts live in the basement apartment they have built, with their dog. They built their chalet to have a basement apartment, and a two floor chalet above it. I'm assuming they live in their house when they do not have guests. There are two separate entrances, at opposite sides. The main entrance, for the chalet we rented, is up on a hill. Their dog was loose outside, and came into the house because the door was blown open because of the wind. It is, after all, his usual home. The door doesn't shut properly unless it's locked or closed very tightly without there being any wind. We did not know this at the time. The dog came into the kitchen where there was dog food, and attacked our little dog. This is a photo of our dog after he was bit. We were very very lucky. He is alive, but it's been one week and he still isn't moving very much.

[Image hidden]

[Jeff158]

Twitter is supposed to get a quick response.

How to contact airbnb