Re: Dogs and common facilities
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com)
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2019 10:04:06 -0700 (PDT)
> So, if service dogs are allowed, what does that do to the people with 
> allergies? And, if service dogs are allowed, why not others?

Life is a series of contradictions. Why do we love babies but don’t want them 
around all the time?

Very few people have service dogs. Of all the people who have lived at Takoma 
Village with 43 units and lots of guests, we have had only 1 person in 20 years 
with a service animal. That person was not in the CH everyday, usually for an 
hour 4-6 times a month for a meal or a meeting and otherwise just to pick up 
mail. 

If all dogs were to be allowed, we could reasonably expect 5+ dogs to be in and 
out of the CH a few times everyday and for dogs to be hanging out there while 
their owners were cooking, watching TV, doing child care, etc. Anyone who is 
allergic would be significantly more likely to be affected by dog dander all 
over the CH, on rugs, furniture, baseboards, etc. Even in the kids room. And 
those who  were violently afraid of dogs based on personal experience would be 
more likely to run into a dog.

I was living in Florida when Takoma Village was forming in Washington DC. l saw 
the action only through email and had to put the pieces together from bits and 
pieces of information. One day the discussion was about a kitty litter box in 
the CH. Where should it be, how large, what kind, etc? I started thinking about 
previous email references to cats.

From a distance I asked, “How many cats do we have?”  One person took in foster 
cats and had as many as 5. Another had 3. Both indoor and outdoor cats. Several 
more had 1.  Who changes the litter often enough to keep the smell out of the 
CH for maybe 10 part-time cats? As the numbers mounted, there was no more 
discussion of cats or litter boxes in the CH. This was before we got to the 
discussion about allergies.

It comes down to what is doable. What works. Talking about what is fair or 
equal is only useful if there is something that can be changed or fixed or 
adjusted.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines, Historic Takoma Park
In Washington DC, Where all roads lead to Casablanca


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