Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Susannah Bryan

Published July 6, 2013

Lynda Davis and her mother Dorothy lived in peace at their no-pet condo on Fort Lauderdale's Galt Ocean Mile — until their puppy moved in. 

Neighbors spotted Davis walking the German shepherd and accused her of getting the dog as a pet — though she told them Nittany would one day be a service dog for her 90-year-old mother, who is frail, blind and hard of hearing. 

Now lawyers with Broward County are preparing a rare housing discrimination lawsuit against the Southpoint Condominium Association on behalf of the family.

It's the latest skirmish over pets and condos in South Florida, where conflicts arise now and again over the no-pet rules that are so often part of an association's bylaws. 

"I think it's just the general nature of the condos and the condo commandos," said Gary Singer, a real estate attorney in Sunrise. "People move into these communities not despite the restrictions, but because of the restrictions. They don't want to deal with dogs in the elevators and pee pee in the hallways." 

In March, the family moved to a house in Delray Beach after what Davis, 58, describes as months of harassment from neighbors who accused her of breaking the condo's no-pet policy. 

Jennifer Swirsky, attorney for the Southpoint Condominium Association, declined to comment. 

Assistant County Attorney Adam Katzman says he plans to file the lawsuit in federal court by mid-July. 

If the county wins and the judge awards attorney's fees, the condo association would pick up the tab, estimated to reach $20,000.

Federal law does not require service animals to be trained — nor does it require proof of certification. 

But in May 2012, condo officials requested that Davis produce a certificate proving that Nittany was a service dog, county records show. Davis said she turned over a certificate stating that Nittany was being trained as a service dog and would finish her training in September. 

Davis says she decided to get the dog after her mother suffered a nasty fall one night.

"This was one of the reasons I wanted the dog," Davis said. "He wakes me up when she gets out of bed." 

Davis says she called several service dog schools, but they would not put her mother on a waiting list because of her age.

So Davis went another route, buying Nittany as a puppy, then hiring professionals to train him as a service dog. 

It's not uncommon for people to adopt a puppy and have it trained themselves, said Jennifer Bement, a spokeswoman for Southeastern Guide Dogs.

"They may not want to wait for a dog to be trained for them," she said. "And some service dog schools have upper age limits." 

As a courtesy to neighbors, Davis says she rode with Nittany in the freight elevator — but some residents would yell at Nittany, ordering them out of the elevator or refusing to ride with the dog. 

The condo association claimed Nittany was aggressive. Davis says the dog only barked in response to neighbors yelling at him.

Davis filed a complaint with the county's Human Rights Section, which found "reasonable cause" that the condo had violated the federal Fair Housing Act. 

She says she's learned her lesson.

"I will live under a bridge before I move into a condo again," she said.