Last week, a client asked me if I would write a reference letter for her dog. At first, I thought she was teasing me, but then I realized how serious she was. She was moving into a new condominium and the HOA required reference letters from two "pet professionals" for each pet belonging to a new, prospective resident. Wow! She'd gotten a letter from her veterinarian and was hoping I'd write one for her sweet dog too. I had interacted with her dog on numerous occasions in classes and seminars over the years, so I didn't hesitate to write a glowing recommendation for her pup. He's house-trained, sociable with people and other animals, doesn't bark excessively, and he walks nicely on a leash. I told her she should include a copy of his CGC, Canine Good Citizen certificate, with the reference letters as well. As she and I talked more about this reference request, some other interesting, and a bit disturbing, pet-related policies came to light that I thought I'd share with you.
She told me that she'd been turned away from several upscale apartment homes, townhomes, and another condominium complex because her dog weighed over 20 pounds. This one really irritated me. First of all, do you want to know how many under 20 pound dogs I know whose owners have never completely house-trained them? Meaning, they still have regular accidents in the house. If you are concerned about property damage and that's why you are discriminating against big dogs, you really need to examine the amount of damage urine and feces can do to flooring! Plus, some of the barkiest, least sociable dogs I know are the under 20 pounds set. Many of us jokingly refer to this as the dogs having a "Napoleon complex," but it's true. In my opinion, apartment managers, property managers, and landlords should consider each pet on an individual basis. Meet with the pet owner and the pet and then decide based on the behavior you see, not on some preconceived notion about them. If it's a dog, go ahead and require a CGC certificate be submitted, or proof of obedience class attendance. Definitely ask for references, but meet the pets yourself. Sure, it takes a bit more time, but just have the pet come with the prospective tenant to the walk through interview.
Now, I'm sure, I'm going to get a message from someone who reads my blog and actually is a property manager or landlord telling me that they aren't qualified to judge a pet's behavior and frankly, that's a cop-out. Sure, you may not be a pet professional, but you know what a well-mannered dog looks like. Well-behaved dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds. Not all Rottweilers are menaces, not all German Shepherds are barky, and not all Terriers are destructive. Sure, some of them are, but you can figure this out when you meet them. And you should definitely meet those under 20 pounds dogs in person before having their human sign on the dotted line. Just watch your ankles!
In all seriousness: Dogs of any size can have behavior problems. Whether a dog (or cat) has a behavior problem will depend much more on their genetics and upbringing than on their physical size or shape. I would think the most important factors for property managers should be the sociability of the pet, whether they are house-trained, whether they are destructive, how loud are they, and can they be walked in common areas without issue. I also think it's wise to have the new resident sign off that they will pick up behind their dogs when toileting outside in common areas, and have a consequence such as a fine for those dog owners who don't do it. It's only fair!
We all know (or should know) that property managers cannot discriminate against a pet owner who has a legitimate service animal or emotional support animal seeking housing, regardless of the size of the animal. And it is absolutely okay to ask what service the animal provides the owner and ask for proof of training and certification for those with emotional support animals.
Story time! Years ago, I was looking for a small house to move into near the beach in San Diego. I had a medium-sized dog at that time (Shadow weighed 43 pounds), as well as my completely indoor cat, Katmandu. None of the places I'd seen listed allowed dogs, or if they did, once again, the dogs had to be small in size. So, what did I do? I scheduled a walk through at a house I was really interested in and I brought my dog and my cat with me. As I approached the house, the landlord was standing on the porch. I came up the walkway, dog on a leash at my side, cat on a leash and draped around my neck. I asked Shadow to sit and stay and asked if we could take a look inside? He said sure, though he was clearly still trying to figure out if the cat was real! As we entered the house, Shadow remained calmly on the porch in her sit/stay. By the time we'd gotten to the kitchen, the landlord indicated that he thought that she should come inside too. I called her and she calmly walked into the house and sat next to me, tail wagging. He asked if he could pet her and I told her to go say hi, which she happily did. No jumping up, no exuberance, no problem. He then asked if he could meet the cat! I put Katmandu on the ground and he sat there on leash, waiting to be called over. When the landlord bent down, Katmandu approached him, rubbing against his legs and trying to bump his head on the guy's hand. He'd never seen such well-behaved animals, he told me. He also told me I put his own pets to shame! Needless to say, we got the place AND when we moved out two years later, he offered to write me a tenant reference letter if I ever needed one in the future. I'm pretty sure that going forward with that rental property, he knew to judge the pets and their owners by their behavior, not by the size of the animals on paper.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
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