Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Dog in community was [Maintaining the conversation]

[Nancy Baumeister (nancybee]

Our community (CoHo Ecovillage Corvallis Oregon https://www.cohoecovillage.org/ 
) has had remarkably little conflict around dogs.

Our dog policy says that dogs will be either on leash or under voice control. 
Therefore the expectation is that the dog is within sight of the owner and that 
the owner is able to stop the dog from doing any undesired action (either 
through physical control via leash or theough voice control via training).

We are currently working on our long term land use plan. As part of that we did 
a survey looking for peoples hopes, fears, joys and concerns around the land. I 
was struck after reading the many pages of comments that conflict around dogs 
was not prominent. The word dog was only mentioned once. None of the usual 
suspects like poop, barking, aggression were mentioned as major concerns. That 
tells me that us dog owners are doing a good job of montoring ourselves.

Some demographic data: 34 units on 6 acres, 10 dogs (ranging in size from yorkie 
to saint bernard and ranging in age from 7 months to 9 years). We have had dogs 
move in and out (and pass on) but the number has been remarkable constant over time.

One fabulous thing about our location is that there is a 400+ acre sports park 
and natural area along a river immediately east of us where dogs that need to 
run can run.

Here are the details on our current policy (sorry I can't just provide a link)

Vision
CoHo Ecovillage members acknowledge the fun, affection, comforts, and meaning 
these
companion animals add to their families’ lives. We also acknowledge that some 
members
may prefer neither to have pets nor to interact with others’ pets. This policy 
regarding
pets is intended to promote a harmonious relationship among pets, pet owners, 
and non-
pet owners and a peaceful, clean, and safe environment for all. We also value 
native
wildlife and the environment and want to protect it from the negative impact of 
pets.

Needs/Requests
Need for fun, affection, comfort and meaning attained through the companionship 
of
pets.
Need for ease in not being affected by others’ pets.
Need for harmony amongst our neighbors and our pets.
Need for a peaceful, clean and safe environment.

Vision and Values
Our Pet Policy supports our community Values of:
● Cooperation and Friendship.
● Environmental Sustainability.
● A Diverse Community.
● Safety and Trust.
● The Interconnectedness of Life.

Facts
CoHo community owners have pets.

Assumptions
Pets will remain a part of the CoHo Ecovillage community in the future.

Policy
Guidelines for pets
● Individuals must be responsible for their own pets
○ Caring for them
○ Keeping them under control
○ Owners are expected to be responsive to concerns expressed by others
regarding problem behavior (e.g. noise)
○ Owners are expected to minimize their pet’s impact on wildlife.
○ Members are encouraged to notify the CoHo community via email, the
common house bulletin board and at a community meeting either before
getting a new pet or within one week after getting a new pet. Anyone that
wants to meet and learn about the animal will have the opportunity to do
so. This allows members to meet the new pet and express or clarify any
concerns.
● Any concerns about a specific animal should be addressed first by speaking
directly to the owner. If no resolution is reached then the conflict resolution
process will be used. Dog owners who are involved in repeated conflicts are
encouraged to complete an AKC Canine Good Citizen course (or something
similar) to aid the dog in being a respected member of the community. (See
resource section.)
● When outdoors, dogs should either be confined to a yard, on a leash, or under
voice control and supervision. This means that the owner is aware and attentive 
to
their behavior at all times.
● Service animals are the only animals allowed in the common house.
● In common areas, owners are responsible for thoroughly cleaning up their 
animals
feces at the time of deposit.
● Out of respect for our desire to protect wildlife, cats may be outdoors only 
if
confined in a yard or on a leash. Exception is made for elderly or infirmed 
cats as
long as their owners are present and attentive to their behavior.
This policy does not cover farm animals.

Appendix
Resources:
AKC Canine Good Citizen course
Best Friends Obedience, Agility, and Doggy Daycare
126 SW Avery, Corvallis, OR 97333
541-754-6956

Julie Flanery, Wonderdogs
1379 North 9th
Street, Philomath, OR 97370
541-929-3915
www.wonderdogsonline.com

Wendy McCoy
k9calling [at] yahoo.com

PetPolicy2010715 Page 2 of 3 CoHo Ecovillage Pet Policy
20100715 Review: 1st
quarter 2013
Revision History
This policy was created and initially approved 20050821.
This policy was revised and consensed upon on 20100725.

On 6/27/2011 5:42 AM, Ruth Hirsch wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I hope this comes across as ok, and gets the conversation back on track-- and 
> off the distraction.  This is the second time in recent memory that this same 
> dynamic has taken place here.  There was a recent discussion re: CommonHouse 
> use,  WT threw in comments of interest to him, and off went the discussion 
> chasing WT's ball.  I suppose is fine for W to write to the List--- but we do 
> not then have to spend a bunch of energy on responses to what I'd call a 
> distraction.  I really would like to see this discussion back on track.
>
> These have been two big and important topics:
> CH use, and
> pets/dogs.  Please do write how your communities are doing on these, or even on 
> the current one: dogs-- actually, we have neighbors with concerns about cats 
> doing in song birds, so if you have any cat policy, pleas do tell.
> Thank you, Ann, Leland and Katie for speaking up.  Please can we help ourselves 
> maintain our conversation, and acknowledge Wayne: --WT, please do not 
> distract-- which --my concern-- leads to another round of distracting 
> conversations-- re: WT's concerns, or do not acknowledge, but not get 
> distracted by what seems to be what may be called a red herring.
> Sorry if this is redundant/unfriendly  but this is a very valuable forum, and 
> seeing is shift has been problematic.
>
> Ruth
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
>
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:21:23 -0400
> From: Ann Zabaldo<zabaldo [at] earthlink.net>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ dogs in community
>
> Wayne and all --
>
> How would knowing the answers to your questions be helpful in dealing w/ this 
> issue?  I'm not picking at this -- I'm trying to understand what inferences you 
> could draw from knowing if 5% or 50% of the owners/residents are dog owners.
>
> If only one resident has a dog and that dog is a problem then the community has 
> a problem.  If 100% of the residents have dogs and none of them are a problem 
> and the community at large has no problem w/ the dogs then ... there's no 
> problem.
>
> I don't know what difference it would make in a cohousing community if one or more people on the 
> board have or do not have dogs.  Since most governing boards in cohousing work at the behest of the 
> membership the membership is the body that sets "the rules" ... O!  Excuse moi!  I meant 
> "guidelines."  :-)
>
> I'm probably missing something glaringly obvious so do fill me in.
>
> :-)
>
> Woof!
>
> Best --
>
> Ann Zabaldo
> Takoma Village Cohousing
> Washington, DC
> Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
> Falls Church VA
> 703 663 3911
>
> On Jun 26, 2011, at 6:00 PM, Wayne Tyson wrote:
>
>
> CoHo:
>
> What is the proportion of dog owners to non-owners among the respondents to
> this thread and its sub-threads?
>
> What is the proportion of dog owners to non-owners on this list at large?
>
> What is the proportion of dog owners to non-owners on the governing boards?
>
> Thank you for your responses,
>
> WT
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:26:32 -0600
> From: Leland Baker<lhbaker [at] ecentral.com>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ dogs in community
>
>
> Is it just me who expects someone asking for information requiring a
> fair amount of work for many people to state why the information is
> needed and what will be done with it?  This is a rhetorical question.
> Please don't respond.
>
> Leland
> _______________________________________________________________
>
>
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:21:17 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Katie Henry<katie-henry [at] att.net>
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_ dogs in community
>
> Wayne,
>
> This is another message where you come across to me as a conspiracy theorist
> looking to uncover the hidden authoritarian nature of cohousing. Why else would
> you ask about dog ownership on "governing boards" vs. list members at large? It
> sounds to me as if you hope to reveal that dog owners take on positions of
> "power" to avoid being subject to pet policies, or to craft pet policies in a
> way that favors them. Why else would you seek that information?
>
>
> Katie Henry
>
> ----------------------
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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--
Nancy Baumeister
CoHoEcovillage.com