Article Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Posted November 6, 2006

SPRING HILL - The state Attorney General's Office is now looking into the case of Chloe, the 5-pound therapy dog kicked out of a Weeki Wachee condo.

Dee Bordonaro received an Oct. 25 letter from James Young, assistant attorney general in the office's civil rights unit, saying she should receive some sort of settlement for her housing troubles.

"You should be aware that the process for resolving fair housing cases can be quite lengthy and frustrating," Young wrote in the letter. "After a brief review of the file and history of this dispute, it is my opinion that additional settlement discussions should take place."

The 62-year-old and her husband, 64-year-old Joe, faced eviction from their condo at the Greens at the Heather when the Weeki Wachee condo association refused to allow Chloe to live at the home because of a no-pet policy.

Bordonaro bought Chloe, a white toy Shih Tzu, in September 2005 at the advice of three doctors. Chloe was certified as a therapy dog and has since helped to take Bordonaro's mind off her debilitating health problems - multiple sclerosis, depression and diabetes.

Though Bordonaro understood that Chloe was technically not allowed in the condo, she asked the association to let the dog stay for a few months, until the couple moved into a new home.

After lots of back and forth, the answer was no. Bordonaro then took her case to the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

In the meantime, she started visiting Chloe at the home of her daughter, Chris LaRocca, in Spring Hill. LaRocca would also bring the dog to her mother for parking lot visits when she was too sick to leave home.

Bordonaro was disappointed when the human relations commission ruled in favor of the Heather in August. It stated that the association did not discriminate against Bordonaro by giving Chloe the boot.

Because no one else was allowed to have a dog after the condo association made its no-pet policy in 2004 and because Bordonaro got her dog after that, she was not treated unfairly, the commission stated.

But with the help of the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, Bordonaro continued to explore her options. The Tallahassee-based disabled rights group hoped to make a legal mark in the new world of therapy pets.

And now, with the backing of the state Attorney General's Office, Bordonaro looks forward to vindication. At the beginning of October, she and her husband moved into a new home in Sterling Hill.

The Heather's Brooksville attorney, Paul Nessler Jr., has also since removed himself from the case. He advised the association to retain an attorney with more knowledge of administrative law.

"I bet they're sorry they ever started with me," Bordonaro said Friday in her living room, while petting Chloe who was sitting in her lap. "Look, she's just a 5-pound ball of fluff that will lick you to death and make you as happy as can be."