Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pet Policy for Cats in Co housing community

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Apr 24, 2015, at 8:50 AM, Coleen O'Connell <oconnellcoleen [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> If you lived in a regular neighborhood
> you would have zero control.

Actually not. It depends on whether you are rural or urban. Outdoor cats are 
illegal in Washington DC. The cats could be reported, or caught and turned in 
to animal control.

The reason we finally got a pet policy at all is that we consulted Animal 
Control on the interpretation of the law on dogs. Unless they are in a fenced 
yard that belongs to a privately owned house, dogs have to be "under the 
control of the owner." "Under control" means the dog is on a leash or close 
enough for the owner to grab them. A child under 14 (?) doesn't qualify as a 
person who can control a dog. To walk a dog on a leash, they are supposed to 
have an adult present.

A condo doesn't qualify as private home. If we had allowed dogs to be free 
roaming on our property, we would have been liable as a community for their 
actions. Since a number of our members had been subject to or had close friends 
subject to dog bites (one young child being bitten in the face leaving 
permanent scars), no one was willing to take that risk.

The control of cats is not so strict as dogs in DC but it could be enforced. 
Cats are more of an irritant.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org