The cottage is generally not pet friendly in order to ensure a clean environment for visitors. However, I, as an owner, own dogs of my own, who may occasionally be at the property. We take great pains to ensure that the property is thoroughly cleaned though. Because of this, we occasionally allow pets with prior approval.
When pets aren’t allowed, the rental agreement clearly states the stipulations in the event a pet is found at the property, including grounds for immediate eviction. If a pet is accepted, there will be an additional pet fee and a required pet addendum which, among other things, states that the pet will never be left alone, must be on some sort of flea control and up to date on shots.
Service Animals
Under federal law, all of our properties accept dogs who are Service Animals.
A Service Animal is not a Pet; no Pet fee is charged for a Service Animal.
The Service Animal must meet ADA qualifications.
You are required to answer the 2 following questions properly:
1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
EXAMPLE For how to Answer: “This service dog is trained to ( …perform the task of … ) ________________________ during a medical situation of the owner” .
Fill in the blank above to specify the trained task.
You do not have to reveal your disability in formulating your reply. Please read below for more information and guidance on acceptable answers.
WARNING
Those who pretend that they are disabled, or that their pet is a Service Dog so that they may enter or stay in a hotel, house, apartment or condominium — or to exceed the boundaries of what is legal or ethical are breaking federal law.
In the State of Maine the penalty is a fine up to $1,000. There are legal options for traveling with your dog which you should consider. Your Service Dog must be able to complete a trained task or work that is directly related to your disability.
What does it mean to be individually trained?
Individual training is the process by which a dog is specifically taught a behavior or task through rewards, praise or corrections. Natural dog behavior such as protectiveness, barking, licking or comforting an owner are not considered appropriate tasks under the ADA, even if those actions help the disabled owner. Examples of individually trained tasks include retrieving a phone, providing deep pressure therapy during a panic attack or providing balance support on a staircase to prevent a fall.
What are work or tasks?
Work or tasks are chores or behaviors that a Service Animal performs, on command or cue, to help a disabled person with something that they can not easily do for themselves.
Work or tasks must also be quantifiable in some way, such as fetching a medicine bottle for someone who is having a seizure, opening doors or drawers for someone who has physical mobility issues or alerting on glucose levels for a diabetic.
Examples of some things that would not be an appropriate physical task would be simply providing companionship, licking someone’s face, barking, guarding, protecting or even tasks performed merely for convenience such as fetching the morning paper. While everyone enjoys the emotional, social and safety benefits that a dog’s presence can provide, those benefits do not constitute trained tasks that would transform a disabled person’s pet into a legitimate Service Dog under ADA. This standard means that the ADA does not apply to many dogs that function as therapy, emotional-support and companion animals.
Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.
This property does not charge the standard Pet Fee for a Service Animal, nor is the security deposit increased.
Guest remains liable for any and all damage caused by people or dog.
* The standard Pet Fee is Not waived for an Emotional Support Dog nor a Therapy dog – only for a Service Dog.