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

[Nancy Wight (wight]

> 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

This is a good idea - to state the goals first before looking at
the details.  Funny, we used to do this kind of thing alot more
in the beginning.  

> 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.
 
This issue hasn't even occurred to me, and I haven't heard anyone
else express it.  We have many acres of conservation land surrounding us
and we are going to be planning our landscaping to encourage the native
wildlife to return to the area.  We should do a similar study.

> 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.
 
This policy sounds great to me!  Unfortunately, we didn't have any policy 
on pets before filling up our group.  We figured it was something to be 
dealt with "later".  Maybe this is one of those things that has to 
be in the original mission statement or by-laws of any group.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!  I find this very helpful!

- Nancy

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Nancy Wight                                               (508) 659-4974
New View Neighborhood Development, Acton, MA            wight [at] wal.hp.com
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