Service Dogs Make sure they are bonifide

[Gillian120]

Had a demand from a prospectus guest saying I had to accept her and her pet as her dog was a service dog and she had a certificate to prove it.  In most Province's I believe you have to accept service dogs as they are an extension of the person.  However, on checking with the province of BC, where I live,  they told me that this law only applied to those with a BC Guide Dog and Service card and hers was Alberta.  The lady was very nice and kept telling me to check her card as there are many out there that are not genuine.  I googled Service Dog Card and sure enough, a website came up showing the exact card the guest had emailed me proving anyone who had a dog could get one.  So beware there are many fakes and the people who are willing to deceive hosts into making them stay in their homes are not the type I, or I should think anyone else wants in their home.

[David126]

@Catherine991

Suggest you read the AirBnB policy on Assistance Animals. (Not service animals which many hosts are unlikely to encounter.)

[Catherine991]

Thanks. Yes I am quite familiar with the Airbnb policy. 

[Catherine991]

Assistance animals is the more recent name for service animals.

[Catherine991]

Correction- service animals are specifically trained for mobility, medical and often PTSD needs. Assistance dogs is a broader category that has a slightly different definition and may or may not include ESAs, per the FHA and HUD. The best definition of and rules governing Service Dogs is in the 2015 updated publication of the Federal Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section-

Frequently Asked Questions About Service Animals and the ADA.  Google it. Read it.

[Jeffery31]

It doesn't matter what the Fed guidelines on Service Animals, Assistance Animals or Emotional Support Animals say. AirBnB's guidelines are different and they govern here not the Fed.

Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals are both considered by AirBnB to be 'Assistance Animals' and as such must be allowed, except for shared spaces where there is a documented safety concern such as allergies. (Not following their rules can get you fined, you can loose Superhost status, can get booted from the platform for a year, etc.)

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1869/what-is-an-assistance-animal

[André-and-Pauline0]

We recently had a couple stay claiming one of them was vision impaired and needed to take their guide dog with them. We had no problem at all with this and welcomed them into our home/shared space. When they entered the dog was on the lead but literally dragged the vision impaired person up our front stairs. They then let go of the lead and the dog took off into our home, ran into our lounge room and proceeded to grab a shoe that was lying on the floor. As soon as I saw this I had my doubts - there is no way a guide dog would act in that way. So this left us in a very awkward situation. They only stayed one night but I was annoyed greatly that they were trying to pull the wool over our eyes. They are making it very hard for genuine people with genuine needs for guide/assistance dogs. I think we should be within our rights to ask for some sort of identification to prove that the dog is a registered guide/assistance dog.

[David8336]

Doctors letters 

Its the law

[Chad428]

Hi David can you give more detail? I keep reading that there hosts cannot ask for any documentation to verify disabilty.

[David8336]

The Human Right act of canada

Read it is the law