Couple Booked a Quiet Airbnb Getaway. What They Found Inside Was Not in the Listing (Exclusive)

A peaceful getaway can bring unexpected surprises, but few are as memorable as the one that greeted a recent Airbnb guest. 

When Milky, who prefers to go by his nickname, arrived at his rental, he was met not by a welcome basket or a handwritten note, but by a pitbull named Xanthe — who was not mentioned in the listing.

“It was a bit of a shock! At first I thought we entered the wrong house or that the dog had been left behind,” Milky tells PEOPLE. He and his partner had traveled to the area to scout wedding venues, but dog sitting was not on their itinerary.

The story, first shared in a viral TikTok, captivated viewers with its blend of confusion and comedy. In the video, Milky can be heard asking, “Whose dog is this?” as Xanthe greets him in the living room.

In a follow-up TikTok clip, Milky explained how he reached out to the property’s host for clarification. “I sent a message to the owner, just asking what’s going on,” he recalls. 

The message read: “Hi, I’m a bit confused, we are staying at your Airbnb and there’s a dog here? We didn’t realize there would be a pet around and it’s not mentioned on the listing. Just checking this is in fact your dog? Or have we stumbled upon an abandoned dog?”

The response he received was as unexpected as Xanthe’s presence. “Hey. Oh yep, that’s my girl Xanthe! Sorry if that wasn’t clear in the listing… She’s basically the guardian of space, deeply in tune with its energy. But don’t worry, she’s super chill and just here to vibe,” the host replied.

Milky says it quickly became clear that Xanthe was not just any dog, but a central figure in the home. “I think the more time we spent in the house and looked around it was evident. A room dedicated to the dog with a sign on the door saying ‘the paw palace’, it was all very strange. I kept thinking, did I miss the memo???”

The host’s instructions for Xanthe’s care soon went viral in their own right, thanks to their spiritual flair. “The whole care ritual itself was pretty bonkers. Referring to Xanthe being outside as a ‘spiritual pilgrimage’ was next level,” Milky says.

Among the guidelines: Xanthe only eats a “spiritually aligned diet,” drinks filtered water to avoid “disrupting her chakra balance,” and requires a daily two-hour sound bath featuring “ancient dog chants.” 

Milky didn’t adhere to the rules immediately, but eventually, he gave in.  “I did end up giving her filtered water and her spiritually aligned diet. I didn’t want to disturb her flow or diet. Though at times it felt like I was an unpaid dog sitter,” he admits.

Despite the initial surprise and the unconventional pet care routine, Milky says the experience took a positive turn.

“Apart from having to look after the dog’s chakras, it ended up being a pleasant surprise,” he notes. “She was very loving, licked a lot. So it was overbearing at times, but we embraced her. She even came and looked at some wedding venues with us.”

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The viral saga has made Milky more cautious when it comes to booking future accommodations. “Airbnb was nice enough to give us credit for the hassle. But next time I think we’ll just stick to hotels,” he says. A representative for Airbnb did not yet respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

As for whether he’d stay at the same property again, Milky isn’t so sure. “I was looking for the listing to share with some friends recently, and it appears after the incident, the property is no longer listed!” 

“If I had known, I don’t think I would’ve booked the place,” he adds. “It was cute in the end, but did add extra stress for what was meant to be a romantic weekend.”