Last year, my schnauzer was very sick with cancer when we left for the beach. We had rented a condo at the Sunbird and the owner was very clear that pets were not allowed. We debated on what to do and decided to take him with us...hoping that no one would know (the owner lived in Atlanta). We were giving him an IV of liquids twice a day as well as medicines. We knew that no one else would be able to administer those things to him. He was so sick that he could hardly muster up the energy to do much of anything. Schnauzers don't shed, so we weren't worried about hair. We placed a blanket on the couch and he stayed there until we took him out to use the bathroom...the whole trip went well without any accidents. Well, until the next to the last day...the owner decided to show up at the condo to check on some things that had recently been repaired. She saw my dog on the sofa and flipped out. She threatened to kick us out on the spot. She made us pay her $500 cash on the spot. She said that we could get it back on the last day upon a thorough inspection of the condo. She also forfeited my orginal $150 deposit. On the last morning, we called her and she came over and inspected and gave us our $500 back. It indeed put a damper on the trip. We tried to explain to her that our dog was very sick, but she seemed completely unconcerned. Our beloved Buddy died a week after we returned back home. I realize that we were wrong to attemp to sneak him in against the rules, but to this day, even though we went through the ordeal, we are very grateful that we had those days with him. This year, we plan to go back in September (obviously in someone else's condo!). We have a new puppy...we will be boarding him at our vet.
I feel your pain. Good luck.