Article Courtesy of The TCPalm

By Gil Smart 

Published March 4, 2016

I have a dog. You want a dog? I have a dog.

I'm kidding. Mostly.

As my wife tries to sell our house up north, the dog has been "helping" by periodically doing her business on the rug. Oh, and barking at all the Realtors, potential buyers, neighbors, the mailman, other dogs, squirrels, shadows and the wind. She's quite the guard dog, my mutt. That ends the moment you step foot in the house, of course. Charles Manson could cross the threshold with a large knife and she'd jump up, tail wagging. But any old person shuffles by in the street, and she just about loses her mind.
      

As annoying as this all is, we love her and we'd never dream of leaving our dog behind. But last week I talked to Alison Reardon, of Washington, D.C., who may have to do just that. Reardon wants to retire to Stuart. "I'm looking for a nice climate change," she said. But it's a package deal: She has a 50-pound rescue dog, Maggie. She thinks Maggie is a bearded collie, though sometimes with rescue dogs it's hard to tell. Whatever the breed, Maggie is "the sweetest dog in the whole world — she doesn't even bark," Reardon said.

Treasure Coast Newspapers columnist Gil Smart's dog Tonks.

  
But bark or no bark, Reardon had discovered how hard it is to find a condo that will accept any pet at all — let alone one that weighs 50 pounds.

Reardon's Realtor, Jeene Brown of RE/MAX of Stuart, compiled a list of 21 condominium complexes in the Stuart area. Eleven prohibit pets outright, another permits only one cat and five limit pet ownership to one "small" pet. Of the remaining three, two permit one pet weighing 25 pounds or less and the other allows one 35-pound pet.

These type of restrictions are common, though they appear to be more common in some places than others.

Bill Baysura is a Realtor with Dale Sorenson Real Estate in Vero Beach. He counts 50 condo complexes on the barrier island that accept pets, although "a very generous weight restriction would be 35 pounds," he said. "Twenty-five pounds is the norm, with a maximum of one pet."

Baysura, who also works in St. Lucie County, said there can be practical reasons for condos to limit pets.

"With high-rises, the design of the building is not conducive for pets," he said.

Fred DeFoor is the board president for the Pierport Condominium Association in Stuart, which prohibits pets.

"With condo living, you have a lot of sardines packed into the can," he said. "We have a guy here who has very bad asthma problems, he's very allergic to pets, and to live next door to a pet would be a problem."

Not everyone cleans up after his or her pet, DeFoor noted, and others have dogs that bark incessantly.

So bottom line: If you have a pet and you want to live in one of these communities, Fido may have to go away.

There are exceptions. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, a condo association may be required to accommodate an "emotional support" animal, though the association can ask for documentation — a doctor's note attesting to the need for an animal, for example.

And some condo associations may make exceptions on a case-by-case basis, Baysura said.

"Even if the dog doesn't make weight, (the association) may ask what breed it is," he said. "The board may actually 'interview' the pet."

I'm wondering how that would go with my own dog.

"So, how often do you bark?"

"BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK!"

"Not a chance."

Kidding aside, last year the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast recorded 350 pets surrendered by people who were moving and couldn't take the animal along. That was 14 percent of all owner-surrendered animals.

"Fourteen percent is quite a lot," said Candice Veach, Director of Shelter Operations.

And while not all were surrendered by retirees moving into a no-pet condo, plenty were.

"Some people who live in restricted communities come in and socialize with the animals," Veach said. "They love them, but they're not allowed to have them.

"We would love if more places would allow animals. It would increase pet adoption."

Or decrease pet surrenders.

The idea that someone like Reardon should have to surrender her beloved pet to find housing here seems kind of ludicrous. I can understand why an association might be wary of barky dogs like mine. And — believe me — I know all about the mess pets can make.

But in a country where 65 percent of the population owns at least one pet, what you wind up with is a situation where more than half of the nation can be aced out of a certain, vital type of housing.

Reardon is considering her options: Keep looking, don't move here or ditch the dog.

"No, I wouldn't get rid of Maggie," she said. "Everyone loves their dog. It's just amazing how many places won't let them in."