Chimps with Wolves

This is the first in what will become many posts of my adventures in adopting a dog. Feel free to share your own adventures and tales in the comment section, or e-mailing me.

Finding dog-friendly housing is easier said than done

A few months back my girlfriend and I decided we were going to leave our lovely split-family home in Somerville for a new place in the general Boston area (which includes Somerville, yes). There’s nothing wrong with our current place. It’s nice; fairly spacious for just two people.

The only problem is “No pets.”

For some, that’s not a problem at all, but for a dog lover and dog trainer working toward CPDT certification (i.e., moi), it’s an issue. I grew up with dogs. I had a Cocker Spaniel from the fourth grade until her passing during my early college years, and my cousin had two dogs growing up. But college meant no money (or time) to take care of a canine companion and top priority right after school was finding my own place and getting a “big boy’s job.” Soon after accomplishing that I moved in with my girlfriend, but then it was more important for us to “just find a place” than it was to find a dog-friendly place.

I’m now a little over four years from my college days (doesn’t seem that long ago); I have a stable day job (just got a raise and promotion last week) and just got my first dog training class at RiverDog. Life’s a bit more routine, more regular, more stable. We’ve been talking about adopting a dog since last summer and now that our lease is up at the end of August, we’re looking to make that jump. We’re going to get a dog this fall (or hope to, more like it). All we need to do is find dog-friendly housing.

Of course, this provides it’s own sort of troubles.

In general, Boston and it’s surrounding outskirts are fairly dog friendly (especially Somerville and Brookline). There are dog parks galore, groups like Som|Dog that promotes proper dog ownership, and plenty of doggie daycare and training facilities in growing population (there are two dog training groups just in Union Sq. Somerville). It’s nearly impossible to go for a walk during the nice weather days and not see half a dozen dogs enjoying the smells and sights.

However, finding a dog-friendly apartment or house to rent seems to be like finding a needle in a haystack.  They seem to be few and far between with landlords afraid of law suits from dog bites and/or having to replace *insert item* because of “dog destruction.” And of the homes and apartments that are pro-dog ownership there are still breed and size restrictions. As I try to look through the landlord’s eyes, I can see why and where such fears stem from. But at the same time, it’s downright frustrating and a bit disheartening for dog loving renters like myself, especially when the landlord owns a dog themselves. Dog ownership shouldn’t be limited to people in the ‘Burbs and who can afford (or want the expenses) of home ownership. But such is life.

Also, I’m pretty sure that once a dog owning tenant lands a dog-friendly place, they try to not to leave for as long as possible, meaning there are fewer such units on the market. I don’t blame them. We might do the exact same thing.

So far we’ve looked at almost 10 places since the start of July. All have been dog-friendly (we make sure it’s pro-dog before we decide to look at the spot), but each spot has had its own quirk or issues that would making living in said place interesting. However, we think we might’ve finally found a place Brookline. Applications are in and the landlord and -lady have said they’d consider a dog. We’ve told them we can only take the place if we can have a dog. We’re waiting to hear back; we’re hopefully, but are still keeping a running list of other potential housing. If we’re accepted, we’ll have the fun task of creating a pet policy/agreement between us and the landlords. That’ll be a post in itself (if we get that far) and luckily I have some dog owning and apartment renting friends, plus guidelines from the MSPCA to help.

We really want to bring a dog into the fold. We want a furry canine companion to hang with us on the couch when we’re sick (and healthy). I want one to play fetch or disc with and keep active. One that I can use for training and training demo purposes would also be a huge plus for me, not to mention relinquish the small part of me that feels weird being a dog trainer without a dog. But before we can find a dog a forever home, we need to find ourselves a dog-friendly home for at least the next year.

What I’ve learned during this dog-friendly housing search:

• Filtering for “dogs” in the Craigslist apartment section is pretty hit or miss. There are some buildings that check it off but actually aren’t dog friendly at all. Likewise, there are some dog-friendly buildings out there that don’t check the “dog” box off. In our search, we’d contact every place that didn’t outright say they don’t allow dogs and find out what their policy is and if they’d consider one.
• There are more dog-friendly homes and apartments in the ‘Burbs than there are in the City, despite there being more dog parks in the City than in the ‘Burbs. Maybe it’s because the ‘Burbs are more likely to have yards for the dogs to romp in. Just something to keep in mind.
• Make sure you find out if it’s OK to have a dog right away. If you already own a dog or really want to get one (like me), you might as well make that known right away and not waste your time or the landlords time if owning a dog there isn’t kosher. With every building we’ve contacted, we’d let them know we don’t currently have a dog, but are looking to get one in the fall and that we’re moving because we want to find a dog-friendly apartment. We’ve also mentioned my dog training in hopes that such experience will ease landowners minds with the idea of a dog on their land. Any kind of experience such as training or working in an adoption center can help boost your cred with the landlord as someone who knows what they’re doing.
• Asking friends, fellow dog owners, trainers, groomers, walkers, etc. and e-mailing groups like Som|Dog can help generate some leads. We’ve gotten a few leads on pro-dog owning apartments in the Somerville area but, alas, they were several hundred dollars out of our price range.
• Look for websites that list dog-friendly apartment buildings. The MSPCA website have a few links for finding dog-friendly buildings, plus ways of making your (potential) landlord feel more at ease about letting you bring a dog into their building. There’s also MyApartmenMap that allows you to filter to find dog-friendly places. For a couple of young twenty-something year olds like us, most of the buildings were too expensive. You might get some use of them.
• Get it in writing. Don’t take the landlord’s word for it. Get a dog agreement in the lease. There are enough heart-breaking stories of owners having to give up their dog because their owner doesn’t allow them. No one wants to be the next sad story.
• Persistence. You need it  if you’re limited in what you can afford housing wise, especially in an expensive area like Boston.