Our policy is that we can no longer make exceptions to our "no pet" rule for guests at Cloudhaven. Our reasons fall into several categories…
Ministerial
The Lord’s ministry at Cloudhaven is to people he calls to be here. Part of the Cloudhaven experience involves a change of environment from the normal day-to-day life patterns of our guests. This is to encourage considering new perspectives in many areas based on God’s revelation to us. In line with this aspect of our ministry, we don’t have television or radio, cell phone coverage, or technology at the meal table. We do have internet access, but encourage its use for study rather than social network interaction. Leaving pets at home is another way for our guests to avoid distractions that fill our lives and can inhibit Christian meditation.
Theological
There is a radical distinction in God’s word between people made in his image and the rest of creation—including animals. For some people, due to the naturalistic mindset of our culture, this distinction is blurred. Familiar pets are seen as possessing "personality" that differs only in degree from our own, rather than being qualitatively different. This can lead to an unbiblical attachment to pets that might be something to be reconsidered during a guest’s time at Cloudhaven.
Medical
Some of our guests have allergic reactions to animal residues that may remain even after normal cleaning routines. Besides, there are dogs and cats as well as myriad wild animals that share the mountains with us outside. We recently have adopted a cat as our inside pet, but are not allowing it in our guest bedrooms, media room or chapel.
Practical
Since we have limited staff and resources, we cannot physically provide the extra cleanup and sanitation that may be necessary in the event of pet “accidents” and removal of pet hair, etc. This is the reason that many hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, etc., also have a no pet policy. We prefer to devote our limited time, energies and resources to serving our human guests as best we can.
Conclusion
When we have made exceptions to our “no pet” rule in the past, we have found that those exceptions become the expectation of guests who return to Cloudhaven. In some cases this has simply exceeded our ability to provide the atmosphere we desire for those whom God sends to us. We hope this explanation helps others to understand our reasoning, and that this policy won’t deter those who need to be here from coming.