Service Assistance Animals

Here at KEES, we are happy to provide pet-friendly accommodations to our human and canine guests.  Our pet-friendly properties range from 2-24 bedrooms and feature a wide variety of locations and amenities. We do charge a one-time Pet Fee of $135.00 that will cover the length of your stay.

As much as we would love to welcome your furry family members to any of our properties, some vacation homes that we represent do not permit any pets. We respect and honor our owners right to decline pets. 

Service dogs are accepted at every KEES property, as they are not pets, but working animals. We do waive our pet fees for service dogs in accordance with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and Fair Housing Laws. 

Currently, there is no nationally recognized “certification” for service dogs. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous Internet “entrepreneurs” saw an opportunity and began marketing their services to for a “certification” for service dogs and/or special identification and vests or harnesses. These are ALL counterfeit and we strongly encourage all of our guests to steer clear of these scams. 

In the same vein, it is a misdemeanor in the state of North Carolina to portray a dog as a service animal when they are, in fact, not trained in that capacity. If we were to become aware of such a deception, we would have no choice but to report it to the appropriate authorities. 

We host many guests who claim that their pet is a service animal, and because of the abundance of misinformation online, we have decided that we must begin verifying that status. The ADA regulations provide that the work or tasks performed by the service animal must be directly related to the person's disability and specifically mention examples such as seeing eye dogs, service dogs who pull their handler’s wheelchairs, or service dogs who retrieve items for their handlers. 

To bring a service dog or assistance animal to a vacation rental property, the following procedures must be followed:

1. All service and assistance animals must be declared at the time of booking whenever possible and prior to the check-in date in all instances. 

2. Guests claiming a service dog must answer the following questions:
a.    Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
b.    What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

3. Guests claiming an assistance dogs must answer the following questions:
a.    Does the person seeking to bring the animal have a disability, i.e., a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities?
b.    Does the animal work, provide assistance, perform tasks or services for the benefit of the person with the disability or provide emotional support that alleviates one or more of the identified symptoms or effects of the person's disability?

Please note that we may require documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, or mental health professional stating that the assistance animal provides support that alleviates one or more symptoms or effects of an existing disability. Such documentation is sufficient if it establishes that an individual has a disability and that the animal in question will provide disability related assistance.

We apologize sincerely for any frustration or additional work this policy may create for our guests, but we felt the need to protect both our owners and guests who need the provisions the law allows them.