Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pet policy

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 24 Apr 2012, at 8:35 AM, Lautner, Patricia wrote:

> *     Pet owners will respect the needs of other members of the community 
> with regard to noise and defecation)

You might add fear of pets, not just noise and defecation, and something about 
dogs on leashes. 

We discovered in recent conversations — we finally have a pet policy after 13 
years of discussions — that some people have an extreme fear of dogs, 
particularly off leash. The fears are often based on being bitten as children 
or having friends severely disfigured by dogs. It doesn't matter how small or 
how docile the dog. A dog is a dog.

In DC we discovered that if we allowed a homeowner to have their dog "not 
within their immediate" control and the dog caused harm, the whole community 
was liable because we were in violation of the DC laws. Since laws change, 
instead writing a policy that addresses the law, append the law "for the 
convenience of members" but don't include it in your policy. You want to be 
free of liability if the law changes. Better to make it clear that is the pet 
owner's responsibility to know the current law. 

Animal law enforcement said that "under immediate control of the owner" 
included allowing someone else to walk the dog, for example. If a child walks 
the dog, the owner is responsible for any problems. The dog doesn't necessarily 
have to be on a leash but the owner needs to be close enough to grab the dog if 
if lunges at someone, and to know how much control a dog needs. If a dog has 
previously caused a problem and an owner allows it off leash, that would be 
viewed as being in violation.

This sounds very anti-dog but I also see the problem from the dog's point of 
view. Children hurt dogs by stepping on their feet, pulling their tails or 
ears, etc. A hurt dog is going to justifiably defend themselves, but the child 
will be disfigured for life. I opt for the child being protected over the dog's 
perceived right not to be on a leash.

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