Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Pets in Cohousing community

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

>The issue of pets is very controversial with our community as well.
>Even though we have not formally discussed it, from informal
>discussions over the past 2 years I can tell it's going to
>be a difficult one!  I would greatly appreciate it if you could
>share with us how you resolved this issue - who knows, maybe
>we could be spared similar pain.

First of all some background. Sharingwood is a development which has a 
30 acre greenbelt. We are considered rural and the appreciation of 
nature is a common element which binds us as a community.

Whenever we have dealt with potentially divisive issues we tend to 
start at the big picture conceptual level and then work down into the 
details.  As we started our discussions of pets we found we agreed on 
the following concepts:

We wanted to preserve and protect the local native wildlife
No one should have to be impacted by another members pet
Members have the right to have pets
Members should be responsible for their pets

A large amount of research was done on the impact of pets on wildlife.  
We had a presentation from a  state non-game biologist who gave us some 
detailed information, based on research, on the impacts of pets (Cats 
and dogs) on wildlife.

>From the conceptual agreements the following pet policy was adopted at 
our 1991 annual meeting:

The intent of the pet policy is to protect wildlife and ensure each 
unit owner the right to enjoy pets without infringing on the rights of others.

1.  Dogs are to be kept on the owners unit (lot) and are allowed on the 
road when accompanied by the owner.
2.  Dogs are not allowed on the trails or in the campground.
3.  Cats are to be belled and all new cats ( after Nov. 1991) are to be 
kept indoors at all times.
4.  All cats and dogs are to be spayed /neutered.
5.  All cats and dogs are to be kept indoors after dark.

This policy, more than any other we have, has filtered out people who 
wanted to join us but didn't want the restrictions on their pets.  We 
may have lost some potential members due to this but that's OK with us.

One note of interest. When we passed this there were three "outdoor" 
cats which were grandfathered in under provision 3.  Two of them have 
since dissapeared, presumably eaten by Coyotes or owls.