Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pet Policy - Can you share yours?

[Ken Cameron-Bell (kcameronbell]

Hey Juith,

At Daybreak we purposely kept our pet agreement simple and focussed on
values. We felt we could deal with individual issues as they came.

Ken Cameron-Bell

Here it is:

Daybreak Cohousing Pet Agreements





As members of Daybreak Cohousing, we value “sharing, respecting and tending
to each other’s lives” and “making conscious choices that honor our
relationship to the earth”.  Because of this, we make this agreement
regarding the animals that share our community with us.



Some community members have chosen to include animals in their lives and
therefore have willingly assumed the responsibility for the care,
maintenance and behavior of their pets.  Others have chosen differently and
out of respect and with sensitivity for those who fear animals, have pet
allergies or wish not to relate to another’s pet, personal choice will be
respected.



To encourage optimal community participation, the Common House and Guest
Rooms will be Pet-Free Zones and dogs will be on leash on the community
grounds.



Pet owners will be respectful of the community’s need for cleanliness and
personal safety in the common areas and garden spaces.  Non-pet owners will
trust pet owners to keep community spaces safe and waste-free.



As with all other community agreements, if disagreements arise in
implementation of the above, we will follow our Community Process
guidelines.


On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 8:48 AM, Judith Bush <jbush [at] together.net> wrote:

>
> After nine years of experiencing life in community at Cobb Hill, in
> Hartland, VT we are still working on improvements to our Pet Policy.  We've
> had a common rules and agreements document about animals (there are farm
> animals and household companion pets here) from the start, but it has
> needed
> revision based on experience.  Now it is particularly our policy about
> outdoor cats that is being worked on.  One focus has been setting a "social
> carrying capacity" that sets a limit on the number of outdoor cats allowed.
> If you are living in a community that has written guidelines and would be
> willing to share them, it might give us perspective that is useful.  We
> wonder, among other things, what other communities say to prospective
> buyers
> of a house being sold if the number of cats (or dogs) in residence is at or
> beyond the new limit.
> If you prefer to reply off list, please email me (jbush [at] together.net) and
> Karyn Stack (ksilverstack [at] gmail.com), but your replies might also we
> useful
> to other communities grappling with this perennial issue.
> Judith Bush
>
>
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