Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: pet policy

[Joani Blank (joani]

Linda,

Your pet policy sounds like overkill to me. I don't have exact wording of
the pet policies either for Doyle St. Cohousing where I used to live or Old
Oakland where I live now, but I can recall more or less what the were/are
in each case. 

Doyle St.

1) Each household may have one dog or two cats
2) No pets in the common house
3) Pet owners are required to repair and pay for the repair of any damage
done by their pet to the community property or the property of another owner.

Also (unwritten) was the assumption that clean-up and leash laws of the
surrounding community are to be observed. Of course if a pet owner is cited
by city officials for breach of either, that is a matter between the pet
owner and the city.

Old Oakland

1) In your home you may have as many and whatever kinds of pets as are
allowed by city ordinance.

2) No pets in the common house

3) Pets need to be on a leash or under voice control while outside. [The
latter means that they will stay sitting outside your door or somewhere
else if you tell them to, come when called, heel when told to, etc.]

4)  Pet owners are required to repair and pay for the repair of any damage
done by their pet to the community property or the property of another owner.

5) Pets may not behave in such a way as to interfere with the enjoyable use
of the community by members and guests.  (barking, jumping up, blocking
doors or stairways, etc.)

I think you will find all the other rules you are suggesting--fines,
complaint and appeal procedures, etc.-- to be unnecessary in cohousing.
You will be pleasantly surprised, I'm betting, to discover how easy it is
to deal, for example, with a barking dog when you know its owner as well as
you will know your cohousing neighbors. 

I am not a pet person--well, I have had fish and parakeets--and would never
have a dog of my own, but I dearly loved Dako at Doyle Street, and I
instantly developed a fondness for Spice and Max when I moved to Oakland
just a few months back.  I'm enjoying seeing all the cats--I think there
are nine or ten here--most of them of the indoor variety--and would love to
play with the sociable ones, but I'm deathly allergic to cats.
Fortunately, Spice, the miniature Dachshund, loves to cuddle.

I just found out that last night at 3 AM one of our cats who was, er,
catting around at night got into a fight with a ferral cat who hangs out
around here.  I didn't hear a thing, but apparently a half dozen of my
neighbors rushed out to the garden to stop the fight and rescue Nubian.

So my advice to you (and others) around pet policies would be as follows:
1) start out with as few and as simple rules as possible, 2) relax and
enjoy your pets or the pets of others, and 3) change or make new rules only
as necessary based on actual experiences. 

Joani
Old Oakland Cohousing @ Swan's Market