Mrs. Green e-mailed me on Friday asking if they could get a puppy. And, more to the point, what would it take to get a fence put up?
At this moment, it would take a winning lottery ticket to get a fence put up. I have property taxes due at the end of the year and I have been scrambling since August to make that happen too. Thanks to Ms. Shirley and a few others, this task is a bit more daunting than I expected. And, I am only loosing a few hours of sleep every hour over it. But, I digress...
What Mrs. Green's e-mail really did was tug at all the self-doubts I have. I can't afford a fence. I can't afford to re-roof this home or paint it. The two things I really would like to do. Mrs. Green doesn't complain, but I know she would prefer an air conditioner that doesn't go out at the worst possible moment. Who wouldn't? And perhaps there is a landlord out there who could provide this for her. But at the moment, it isn't me.
I am guessing Mrs. Green has had the dog for a while, and finally got around to telling me about it. What I wrote to Mrs. Green--after determining that the "puppy in question" wasn't a pit bull (which brings up another burning question: what is it with people in Alabama and pit bulls? Surely there are other breeds of dogs out there?)--was that I would waive the pet deposit if she would take care of an enclosure for the dog. I figured that would bring some clarity to the situation, as I am guessing a pet deposit was the furthest thing from her mind.
So far Mrs. Green doesn't seem phased by me asking her to take care of a puppy pen. I don't know what this enclosure will look like. Will she use the basement for the puppy? The basement with the newer carpet? Will she use the garage for the dog? Or, will she do the responsible pet owner thing and figure out a way for the dog to go outside when necessary?
And, I have to tell you, a pet deposit is used as landlords as a deterrent to weed out possible trouble tenants. There is no reasonable amount of money that will fix pet damage. Puppies chew. Puppies scratch? Puppies do what comes naturally. A $300 pet deposit won't fix this.
Monday, December 06, 2010
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2 comments:
I love my dogs! They are like children to me. Also, I am a responsible pet owner. If they make a mess, I clean it up. I keep them either in my house or in the fenced back yard. When I lived in a condo in downtown Memphis, I (begrudgingly) took them on multiple daily walks. Actually more like they took me. However, as good a pet owner as I am, the two dogs I lost to illness last year have wrecked havoc with property until they were 2 years old. Chewed door facings, clawed through the exterior wall all the way to the outside brick, turned over multiple large planters grinding dirt into the carpets, having "boo-boo's" on the carpet, wrecking countless sets of blinds. And once I moved into a house with a yard, there was the digging and chewing on the shrubs and the siding of the house. I have always said that as much as I love my pets, if I were a landlord I would never allow them.
Pitt Bull dogs and Alabama....it appears that if you are in the (social) lower class in Alabama and you don't have at least one pitt, then you're not one of the "cool" kids. I've never in my life seen anything like it. Back home in Memphis it's Chows but the pitts are gaining favor even there. Remember when it used to be Doberman's and Rotties? With today's economy pitts are just cheaper to buy I suppose. Memphis has passed an ordinance within the last couple of weeks that declares if you have a pitt breed (there are several different breeds) you have to microchip them, have them fixed and up to date on all shots otherwise you risk a $1,000 fine if caught. I foresee the shelter putting thousands of pitts down. Most folks who choose this breed are anything but responsible & humane pet owners.
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