My family had a pit bull mix dog who was an emotional support animal for our youngest son, because he’s on the autism spectrum. She wasn’t one of those short, broad pits that look like she could pull the bumper off of a car; she was long and somewhat tall, because she was also part boxer and part European foxhound. She was sweet as could be, although a little skittish around strangers. But, while she was not at a service animal level, she was well-trained.
Back in 2020. I got the call from my mom in the evening, the day after Christmas, telling me my stepdad had a heart attack earlier in the day and passed away. I was devastated. This man may not have been my biological father, but he was the one who raised me, helped me pay for college, and co-signed my first car. He even walked me down the aisle at my wedding. He was my dad in every way except for DNA.
So, the day after Christmas, I find myself scrambling to make arrangements for my family to attend his funeral. Because my mom had just recently recovered from COVID, my family wouldn’t be able to stay with her, so I had to find hotel accommodations for four of us.
Our van was having problems, so that meant we were going to have to rent a car, my husband and sons would have to take time off work, and all of this right after Christmas, when our finances were already strained. We knew we would need to be there for two to three days, and that meant trying to figure out what we were going to do with our dog as well.
Normally, we would board her with one of the vets that took in pet boardings on trips we couldn’t take her with us… but this was the day after Christmas, the vet was closed for the holiday, and the vet that normally boards pets was on vacation, so that option wasn’t possible.
We tried looking for someone who could take her in for the days we would be gone, but almost everyone we knew who would also have pets. While our dog is usually very good with people she knows, she’s not all that great with pets, because she was getting older, had arthritis in her back hip joints, and had been attacked before by other big dogs. My friends all have big dogs, so that was also out.
One of our friends suggested we stay at a pet-friendly hotel and just take her with us. We had pretty much run out of options, so that’s what we decided to do. The friend who suggested this decided that we had too much to worry about, and also decided to pay for our hotel stay and our car rental (really great friend). She and I got together the next day and started looking for pet-friendly hotels in the area around the funeral, and finally found a hotel in the next town over. It meant a thirty-minute drive to the funeral, but we’d take it.
Now, because she was part pit bull, instead of booking online, we decided to call the hotel and book directly, because some pet-friendly hotels have problems with certain-sized dogs/certain breeds.
When we called the hotel, we asked specifically to have a manager help us with our reservation, because we had some questions we needed to have answered, special circumstances we needed to deal with, and we wanted to get a manager’s approval before we booked our reservation. We were polite, cordial, and covering all of our bases.
The General Manager was on duty when we called, so when he came to the phone, I explained my situation, that my family was coming up for a funeral, we had a dog that we could not board in our hometown on such short notice, and that she was an emotional support animal for my youngest son. I fully explained that she WAS a pit bull mix, and asked if they had any size restrictions/breed restrictions for their hotel. I assured the manager that we would be declining housekeeping during our stay.
The Manager assured me that our dog would not be a problem for their hotel. He explained the extra costs for bringing a pet, and that the hotel would charge a $200 deposit up front for incidentals and to cover any damages, but that the deposit would be refunded if no incidentals or damages occurred.
We booked the reservation, got the confirmation number, and I asked if the manager would add notes to the effect that we were bringing the dog, that she was a pit bull mix, and that we would be declining housekeeping. I also asked for the manager’s name and for him to note that he had given prior approval for our dog.
I wanted to have all of my bases covered. He told me he would take care of it, sent the reservation to my email, which I printed out, and we were good to go. He even included his cell phone number just in case there were any problems. As it turned out, I’m SO glad he did that.
We showed up the day of our reservation about forty-five minutes early. We didn’t mean to, driving time didn’t take as long as we expected it to. We knew we were early, and that check-in wasn’t until 3 PM, so after taking our dog on a walk in the dog run for the hotel, we went into the lobby and sat down to wait until check-in time.
I had the folder with our confirmation in one hand, and our dog’s leash in the other. She was sitting on the floor between the chair I was sitting in and the one my son was sitting in, and she would switch between putting her head on my son’s leg and putting her head on mine. She wasn’t moving around; she was sitting quietly, not bothering anyone. There was one other dog in the lobby, a small dog that was being held in the lap of its owner. It was a small dog, so our dog was ignoring it.
The conversation is not verbatim; my memory isn’t as good as it used to be:
The four of us were having a quiet conversation, waiting for check-in time, when a young man in a uniform walked up to us.
Front Desk Staff Member: “You can’t have that dog in here.”
Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, do you not allow dogs in the lobby? We can take her outside until check-in.”
Front Desk Staff Member: “You’re checking in here?”
Me: “Yes. I know, we’re early, traffic was light today. That’s why we’re waiting.”
Front Desk Staff Member: “But you can’t have that dog in here.”
Me: *To my youngest son.* “Take [Dog’s Name] outside until we get checked in.”
I hand him the leash. The other dog owner, misunderstanding, stands up to take her dog outside as well.
Front Desk Staff Member: “Ma’am, you can’t have that dog in here. I mean, you can’t have that dog in this hotel.”
Me: “Wait, I don’t understand, why not?”
Front Desk Staff Member: “That dog is a pit bull, right? You can’t have that type of dog in the hotel.”
Me: “My dog is a pit bull mix, yes, but I don’t understand. I told the manager when I booked this hotel four days ago that I had a pit bull mix that I needed to bring with me, and I was assured it wouldn’t be a problem. Could I speak to your manager, please?”
Front Desk Staff Member: “The manager is the one who told me you couldn’t have that dog here, in the hotel.”
Me: “Wait, you were told by the manager that I can’t have my dog here? [General Manager] assured me my dog would be allowed! It’s all here, in the confirmation! I even got my dog pre-approved to stay here!”
Front Desk Staff Member: “Well, [General Manager] isn’t here, [Manager On Duty] is, and [Manager On Duty] told me to inform you that the dog can’t be here.”
Me: “Who is [Manager On Duty]?”
Front Desk Staff Member: “[Manager On Duty] is the manager on duty, and she wants that dog out of here.”
Me: “I need to speak with [Manager On Duty], please. This isn’t right; you can’t do this.”
[Front Desk Staff Member] walked away, and a few minutes later, a woman walked out from an office door behind the front desk and walked over to us.”
On Duty Manager: “You’re the one with the pit bull? As [Front Desk Staff Member] told you, you can’t stay here with that dog.”
Me: *A little past frustrated, working toward angry.* “Look, Ma’am, I’m here in town to attend my dad’s funeral tomorrow. I just drove three hours to get here. I can’t stay at my mom’s house because she is almost eighty years old and she JUST recovered from COVID. She can’t have visitors staying with her. This is the ONLY pet-friendly hotel in this area. I didn’t book online; I personally called this hotel four days ago. I spoke with [General Manager], who, I understand, is the general manager of this hotel. I explained the situation to him, and I even told him that my dog is a pit bull mix. I asked him, then, if there were any size/breed restrictions for dogs at this hotel. [General Manager] ASSURED me this wouldn’t be a problem. I’ve paid the extra costs to have my dog in this hotel. I even paid a $200 deposit against incidentals and potential damages. The pre-approval for my dog is IN my confirmation notes! I can show you my confirmation, or you could just call [General Manager]. He will tell you he pre-approved my dog. Please, I’m here for a funeral, and the next pet-friendly hotel is over an hour away!”
On Duty Manager: “Well, as you were told, [General Manager] is not here. I’m the manager on duty today, and I’m telling you that you can NOT have that dog in this hotel.”
Me: “What the heck am I supposed to do here? I brought my dog, because I couldn’t get her boarded on such short notice at home! That’s why I took the extra effort to call directly for my reservation and made sure the [General Manager] KNEW my dog was a pit bull mix! He pre-approved her!”
On Duty Manager: “I’m afraid that’s not my problem. I’m going to have to ask y’all to leave, Ma’am.”
[On Duty Manager] walked back toward the front desk, and I opened the folder with my confirmation in it, with the intention of finding a corporate number to call. That’s when I saw the cell phone number of [General Manager], smiled, and started searching my purse for my cell phone. My hubby asked me if he should start looking to see if there were any other pet-friendly hotels in the area. I said no. He watched me dial a number and asked if I was calling Corporate. I told him I had a better idea and sat on my phone, waiting.
General Manager: “Hello, this is [General Manager].”
Me: “Hello, [General Manager]. My name is Mrs. [My Name]. I don’t know if you’ll remember me, but I called you four days ago to book a reservation at your hotel. I asked you about size/breed restrictions for your hotel, because I’m coming in for a funeral, and I had to bring my dog with me. Do you remember, by any chance?”
General Manager: “Yes, Mrs. [My Name], I do remember you. You called to pre-approve your pit bull mix staying at our hotel. I trust there aren’t any problems?”
Me: “Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I’m actually having a huge problem. I’m sitting in your lobby, waiting to check in, and [Manager On Duty] has informed me that I can’t have my dog in this hotel.”
General Manager: “Just tell her I’ve already pre- approved your dog. Let her know that if she looks at the notes, she’ll see it. Or, just have her call me, I’ll inform her I know about the pit bull mix, and that I said it’s okay.”
Me: “Actually, I’ve already done that, Sir. Her response is that you aren’t here, she is, and we can’t have our dog in this hotel. She’s told us we have to leave. She has really put us in a major bind, Sir.”
There was dead silence for what seemed like eternity, but it was probably for less than a minute.
General Manager: “You’re sitting in the lobby?”
Me: “Yes, Sir.”
General Manager: “Stay where you are. I will be there in twenty minutes. If my staff gives you any problems, tell them I told you to stay put, and that I’m on my way in.”
Me: “Thank you so much for this, [General Manager]. I’m sorry to bother you on your day off, but I didn’t know what else to do.”
General Manager: “You have nothing to apologize for. I should be apologizing to you. Just sit tight, I will straighten this out when I get there.”
We sat waiting. The other dog owner at one point leaned over and asked me what I was going to do. She said she didn’t think it was right what [Manager On Duty] was doing to us. I explained to her that [General Manager] had given me his cell phone number when I made the reservation, that I had already called him, and he was on his way in.
Five minutes after that, [Manager On Duty] came back out of the office and saw us still sitting in the lobby. I could tell she was furious as she marched back over to us.
On Duty Manager: “I thought I told you to leave.”
Me: *All smiles.* “You did. But I called [General Manager], told him what was happening, and he told us to stay put. He’s on his way in to straighten everything out.”
On Duty Manager: “I don’t believe that for one second. You can either leave immediately, or I will call the cops and have you trespassed from the property!”
Me: *Shrugged.* “You do what you feel you need to do, Ma’am. I’ll wait here for [General Manager].”
[Manager On Duty] did call the police. They walked in right behind [General Manager]. Of course, [General Manager] saw them, walked over to talk to them for a moment, showed a business card (or possibly ID?), and they turned around and walked right back out.
[General Manager] had barely reached us in the lobby when [Manager On Duty] walked over. She tried to tell him our dog was a menace, barking incessantly, growling at other guests, and that she even snapped at her, but the little dog owner spoke up and called her a bald-faced liar. She had been sitting here waiting for check-in time. She was here before us, and our dog had been quiet, stayed out of the way, and was extremely well-behaved.
We all got the great satisfaction of hearing [General Manager] telling [Manager On Duty] to go collect her things. He then walked us over to the front desk, told [Front Desk Staff Member] to check us in, and give us a free upgrade to one of the business suites for our trouble, then got on the phone and asked for a relief manager to cover [Manager On Duty] shifts until a new [Manager On Duty] could be hired and trained.
So, we got a nice three-room suite, which meant the boys got their own bedroom. An hour later, a rather large gift basket arrived, complete with fruit, cheese, and crackers, some free dinner vouchers, and even some nice choice snacks and treats for the doggo.
I can’t truly say we had a wonderful stay. We were there for a funeral and were having to deal with the loss of Stepdad/Grandfather, after all. We were able to stay and attend the funeral, and our dog was there to comfort all of us when we got back. We were able to spend the extra day with family and friends of Stepdad’s. We headed back home after three days, knowing we’d given Stepdad a great send-off, and we’d all gotten a chance to pay our respects. That’s all that mattered to us.
