Sometimes I think my dog is super smart. Last night, I had trouble falling asleep. Usually, I call her and she puts her head on my arm and I fall asleep. Last night she just came over on her own and put her head on my arm until I got sleepy. She moved to her favorite spot just before I fully fell asleep.
I’m immensely grateful that I have Penny. She was given to me by a former roommate who Penny did not please. When I took her in, I had no idea she would become so helpful.
I’m motivated to write this post, because I had yet another problem with an Airbnb host about Penny. The booking was for tonight. The property had instant booking only. I didn’t want to lose a place to stay, but then later the host told me that Penny was not allowed, because he didn’t want animal hair in the room in case a guest had pet allergies. This is not covered by FHA law, however. I’m not going to stay at a place where we are not welcome, so I contacted Airbnb about the problem. Instead of speaking to the company, I went back and forth with “experts”, who are not employees. I sent messages to Airbnb, not to “experts”. Finally, I realized I had to click a button stating my “question was not answered” in order for my message to go to the company. This is wrong. The “experts” should have escalated it or told me to click the button on the bottom.
This third conflict with Airbnb regarding my dog and my right to the same services those without disabilities get is enough fuel to take this problem of American ignorance of the ADA to another level.