Have you ever walked into a home OR an apartment where people have had animals (and haven’t taken very good care of them?) The place is SMELLY and DISGUSTING! EW!

I also know a lot of people (including myself) who own a single dog that does NO destruction. My mom has lived in her home for 4 years with her dog. When I go to visit, I can still smell the paint as if it’s a brand-new house. She is VERY clean, and so is her dog.

My theory is this: If a renter causes damage, they should pay for it. If they don’t, they shouldn’t. I know that pet owners don’t have “RIGHTS or ENTITLEMENT” but what if we had rights as citizens who are paying rent? Shouldn’t we be allowed to do what we want and have what we want in our HOMES that we are PAYING FOR?

I think the rule should change. If a tenant leaves and the place is ruined, they simply shouldn’t get their deposit back… whether it’s caused by an animal or a human. What’s the difference?

BTW, my neighbor smokes all day. I breathe her second-hand smoke and while it’s against the lease agreement to do so, the management won’t address the problem. And I’m paying pet rent? You’ve gotta be s****** me!

A prospective landlord has allowed cats for some tenants, but does not want more cats due to fleas. If we prove to him we are consistent with flea medication should we insist we should be allowed to have a cat? Should we prove we are good tenants first before getting one? I do not understand why he would not allow another cat if there are already cats in the building, especially if we are willing to pay a pet deposit.

We had already been living in the apt a couple months before we got the cats so we were able to look at our lease and see that if we were caught, the first time was only a warning and fee. This community always gave you some advanced notice before pest inspections, maintenance etc. Still this meant packing them up and taking them to a friend or relatives house each time. And hiding toys, food etc.

So check your lease for the details, but it may not be worth the risk (or the stress of taking a risk).

If you can, take advantage of the first time home buyer’s credit this year and become your own landlord. Your monthly mortgage payment could still be less than you pay for rent, especially considering extra charges for having pets!

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And a comment on the dog breed restrictions, encourage the use of standardized certification for responsible dog owners instead of restricting them.

If you are in that situation try talking with the landlord to explain that you are a responsible dog owner to relieve concern about your dog’s breed. Maybe they can make an exception. Bring paperwork to back you up. Keep trying! Good luck.

http://www.akc.org/public_education/responsible_dog_owner.cfm

Everything you said is 100% relevant. Kudos, dude. Do you write professionally? You should if you don’t. You could be the Andy Rooney of dogs and cats and start every article with the line, “You know what really bothers me?” Seriously though, you have a real provincial (almost Philistine) approach to communicating. Keep it up!!

And I love how some pet-owners feel that their precious Fluffy or their sweetheart Fido doesn’t cause a bit of harm or nusiance to ANYONE! Guess what… your mutt barks. You may think they’re good as gold when your gone, but it is truly a rare dog that doesn’t bark at percieved threats, ie someone sneezing, or opening a refridgerator. Most pets have “accidents”, all of them shed, many get fleas or other parasites. And for every 1 person who claims they pick up their dog’s business, there are 10 who do not. Oh, and do you scrubs their urine off the ground? Or replant anything that may be killed off from their urinating?

I am always more interested in places with no pets/ high cost for pets. It means I’m less likely to be bothered by the pesky things. If only the same could be done with children! Although with children, theres a slim chance they’ll grow up to be useful to society, or at least contribute to taxes. As much as you may love your doggy and consider it your baby, it will never grow up to actually be a person.

Get this, I was incredibly considerate. My poor dog stayed in a crate while I worked all day, and whenever I left. I took her outside and picked up after her 3 times per day. My dog was not EVER allowed on the carpet. Even when I was home, she was confined to the kitchen with one of those baby gates. The apartment was left in pristine condition… I believe she threw up on the carpet once when I was carrying her over it, but I had a bissell steam cleaner and cleaned it up immediately.

Overall, I paid $600 that year, just to have my dog live with me. We left the premises without any damage at the end of my lease. They had the nerve to stick me with a bill to shampoo the carpets for “pet urine.” The bill was $250 and the letter said that if I didn’t pay it within 5 days of the date of the letter, I’d be sent to collections. Ironically, the post office stamp indicated the letter wasn’t sent until 4 days after the letter written.

I was never sent to collections but was completely livid they had the nerve to charge me $250 to “shampoo” my perfectly clean carpets and kept my entire $600. What did the deposit and pet rent pay for? This was clearly a scam. They used my honesty (I TOLD them I had a dog) to claim there was urine on the carpet so they could charge me. I paid it to avoid problems… but I was also 23 and afraid of the big company.

Not only did they rip me off, but my poor little dog suffered as well, and for no reason. I will be honest… this made me so angry and I felt so taken advantage of that I haven’t told my current apartment about my dog. It is dog friendly and everyone has them so I just blend in with the crowd. I stay home all day so it isn’t like she is ever left unattended. Here on the east coast in high-end apartments, people seem to take very good care of their animals.

Pet owners these days are being unfairly targeted. People are always trying to make money off of MY dog. People assume that just because someone owns a small dog, they have tons of money or something. Let us not neglect to remember the $175 one-way fee on United Airlines that we owners have to pay to have our pets sit under the seats in front of us (in a space we’ve already paid for when we purchased our tickets). What next? Can anyone afford to live anymore??

This was done to me by Fairfield Properties. They are evil, bad people.

There’s enough dead animals on the sides of the read anyways, I’d rather not add both of mine to that pile.