June 10, 2010
PITT BULL in HOAs or Condos - How Many Sides Are There?
I get a lot of emails and on some topics, the readers are as far as one can go from one end of the spectrum to another. So imagine a board trying to come up with rules, in this case, on dogs, if this happened to be the board where 2 or more directors vehemently disagreed on what to do. I wrote another blog on a question from a woman who was rather worried for her grandsons as they lived in a condo where the neighbor owned a pit bull. She had just heard a story of a "family pet" pit bull gone bad, where the dog attacked the child. This is from the other side:
"Just to comment on your recent posting about "Pit Bulls" in condos.
Coincidentally, I have a Pit Bull who was a rescue dog. Before adopting 'Prancer' I was ignorant and honestly held the common belief (based on so many news stories):
"That breed should stop being bread altogether...."
I was very scared and ignorant bringing my American Pit Bull Terrier home, as I was expecting to adopt a small little lap dog, but this dog picked me.
Since then, from a lot of research and paying attention to the actual 'Pitt Bull Attack Stories", the breed is NOT per se a dangerous breed. (there are approx 25 different dogs with either "Pit" and/or "Bull" in their breed name .... causing a lot of confusion.)
Pit Bulls (even the mean one that have been trained to be fight dogs) have been bread (genetically inherent to the breed as much as a retriever will always retrieve) to be specifically HUMAN FRIENDLY (the horrible dog fighters realized long ago that they wanted their dogs to fight, but not attack themselves, the owner/handlers and bread the bread that way) ... so they are in fact MORE HUMAN FRIENDLY than most breeds.
Just a note: Recently in Long Beach there was a "PIT BULL ATTACK!" STORY resulting in the dog being shot by the Sheriff in a local park after chasing the dog down. It was a terrible story, but in fact it was the owner who got bit (no dog bites the hand that feeds it - unless there is an owner issue), it was the owner who never kept his dog on leash, there was little human injury (the guy was sent home from the ER) and the poor dog was shot because it was loose and scared by being chased down.
Yet that story was the HEADLINE TEASE story, and not properly reported.
Just recently (a week or two ago) there was a very, very serious dog attack wherein a child was almost killed and the story was about the mother running into her house to get a gun, and she shot and killed the dog that was literally killing her little girl.
That dog was a BOXER ... yet the story and its reporting made virtually no mention of the breed, and without paying much attention, most people would assume it must be 'Another Pit Bull Attack Story'.
They are strong dogs, but they have a statistically lower incident of bites than the popular and lovable Golden Retriever.
I understand the concern people have seeing such a large dog (I spend every day walking my dog, constantly saying "DON'T WORRY ... HE'S FRIENDLY!!"
The only issue comes when someone rushes me and grabs and hugs my dog BEFORE I can even say "he friendly" .... and after 3 years, it is ALWAYS someone who has or had owned an American Pit Bull Terrier and know just how human friendly they are.
I just wanted to give my 2cents. Perhaps you might find some coherent information you can pass along.
[the writer sent a link to photos here]
ALSO - although I did NOT get my dog for security, my neighbors (8 unit townhouses) have benefited by my having such a 'scary' looking dog. He has scared off many a homeless person loitering around our gates/trash area, and despite complaints that I put a 'Beware of Dog' sign outside my door (out of common sense) - it provides security to my unfriendly/hateful neighbors (and we have had 2 break in recently, and I was told by a neighbor that a couple of young guys had jumped our fence and cased our layout) ... The belief that a scary dog might be inside more than one home makes it much safer. So everyone also benefits from the security the misconception the breed carries in a condo complex.
Finally - Personally, I made sure that no matter how hateful my neighbors were/are, they all were fully introduced to the dog, explained about his kind nature, and I had each person give my dog a treat and pet him .... which is a guarantee the dog will like that person (a good suggestion, I think to dog owners in condominiums).
I have lived in my condo 13+ years, and didn't know any of my neighbors. I now know so many of my neighbors, we have a real community and everyone watches out for each others property while walking their own dogs.
So even if you don't like dogs, having a dog friendly condo has a lot of benefits to all the homeowners and property values. In West Hollywood, it is so "Dog Friendly" that despite old CC&R's and a hate for me and my dog, two recent sales listed the property as "ALLOWING DOG" ... despite both those owners trying to invoke NEVER followed old CC&R's.
Seriously, my dog never barks and is always on leash ... which all dog owners MUST always do. When the hateful dispute got nasty, I also found that as a 'service dog' - a Pit Bull so deemed would be exempt from enforcement of any CC&R's by Federal ADA Laws, along with local law, which I think I got from your site, that a Pet is allowed even if CC&R's prohibit all pets. Also, in West Hollywood, seniors may keep a companion dog, even in apartment buildings strictly prohibiting all pets (so there may be other similar local laws).
Anyway, I hope all is going well with your practice and I continue to enjoy reading your updates."
So there ... and let me reiterate something in this story. So many times it is the dog owner that is the problem, not the dog.
Posted by Beth Grimm at 2:12 PM
