Are you kidding me?
We just found out that the company that manages our rental property has a new insurance agency, one that does not allow pit bulls. They did a visual inspect of our house and tagged Emmy Lou as a pit. Now, if we can't prove she is not part pit, (through DNA tests) we might get evicted. Our management company says they are doing what they can to prevent it (we have lived here 9 years, Emmy for 8 of those 9).
It is so fucking insane the perception our society has about pit bulls.
Any tenants rights lawyers out there? Can they really evict us for this? Eff me.
And, I know everyone says this about their own pooch. But I would put Emmy Lou up against ANY dog you could bring on, any being. And she will always win as the nicest, purest, sweetes one. Srsly. All LOVE.
this is bullshit. i'm gonna forward to one of my lawyer friends and see what she says. xoxox
ReplyDeleteBummer. Emmy is getting a bad rap. Besides Artie, she might be the nicest, sweetest pup around. Maybe you can just send the insurance co that picture of Emmy and Mannie. See what they say about that!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that's insanely awful. I'm so sorry.
ReplyDeleteThis is a kind of random link, but Ana (friend of a friend) of Paco Collars is a big advocate of pit bulls up here in the bay area. If you email her, she may have some suggestions. Good luck.
This is a bay area organization, but they might have a connection in your area: http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.html
ReplyDeleteoh god. i know a guy who practices that sort of law out here - let me see what i can do.
ReplyDeleteNooo! That is ridiculous! I hope everything turns out okay. Because really. Ugh.
ReplyDeletei'm sorry that this is hapenning to you. pits can make the sweetest pets when owned by the right people.
ReplyDeletei hope it works out for you!
i am so sorry this is happening to you! i had my first pit experience in february when i dogsat for a professor ... he had the most loving, friendly, temperate pit bull, and now i am dead set on having one! i hope this works out for the best.
ReplyDeleteWhat bullshit! I hope everything works out for you guys! I'm sure it's very different in the States, but in parts of Canada I believe some tenants had argued that they kept pets to help with their depression and then won that way (as long as it was stated on the original lease they had pets). I hate those fat cat insurance/management bastards!
ReplyDeletethat. is. bullshit.
ReplyDeletehow can you think anything bad of that sweet emmy??!
There are laws and rules against pit bulls out there, but not laws and rules against keeping dogs on chains. What a beautiful looking dog you have.
ReplyDeleteJust because it is a dog, it doesn't give a person a right to be racist.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I just can't stand it when people have these generalized ideas of dogs by breeds. And the worst part is, there are so many misbehaved small dogs out there and nobody cares, but any rottweiler or pit gets an automatic demerit.
Sending you and Emmy Lou all of my good wishes and best luck!
I am so sorry you're going through this. This has to be illegal!
ReplyDeleteWe have a pit (adopted from the pound at 1 yr old) and she is a creampuff, in fact we sometimes call her the pit-yful bull. I walk her in our neighborhood daily but every once in a while I hear people say something under their breath about how you can't trust a pit-bull. My dog, Alabama, will sit on our front door step and not move an inch when another dog passes, except for her vigorously wagging tale.
The most dangerous dog in our neighborhood is one that is locked in a dog run all day, it has gone mental. On the occasional walks it does get, it ferociously barks and lunges at my dog. And it's a labrador! Alabama just trots on by, worriedly looking at the other dog, like "what is wrong with YOU?!".
thats so unfair, shes obviously the sweetest thing going! I can't offer any help, but I hope this gets sorted for you. at least the landlords are trying to help you.
ReplyDeleteHave her tested using the cheapest DNA kit you can find - one with the WORST reviews
ReplyDeleteThey are generally WAY off- it might come back saying that she is 1/2 chihuahua and 1/2 black lab in which case you can tell them to go fuck a duck.
Do you have a lease? I'm no lawyer, but it seems illegal to change the terms of a contract after the fact.....
Here's a "good" kit:
http://www.amazon.com/Canine-Heritage-XL-Breed-Test/product-reviews/B001VJ0C4I/ref=sr_1_5_cm_cr_acr_pop_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar&qid=1273647405&sr=8-5
This in insane. Get in touch with Cesar Milan. He's a big advocate of showing that it's usually the owner and NOT the animal (like in the case of pit bulls). Really, email him your situation or call and speak to his assistant. You can probably pull contact info off of his website. I've never heard of anything more stupid.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help. I am a lawyer but in the UK and I am sure our laws are different. We don't have dog liability insurance as part of a renters agreement for starters.
ReplyDeleteWhat does your contract say? Also, is she actually a pit-bull or just something similar?
Here, I don't think dog ownership, if allowed to start with, would be grounds for eviction. That said, if a dog is on the Dangerous Dogs Act list (which a pit bull type dog is) the court might not find in your favour.
I hope someone who knows about American law can help you as it seems unfair if it's been ok for the past 8 years.
xo
Just found your blog via The Brick House.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Pits or variations thereof...
I have a "Peeler" Pit bull/Heeler.
I believe there is no such thing as bad dogs, only bad owners.
I hope you don't have to move. After 9 years?
F-ing ridiculous.
-ella
austin, tx
Wow. That sucks ass. I'm so sorry. How stressful.
ReplyDeleteI was bit by a black lab while riding my bike by a house, but I don't hold it against black labs.
There are DNA tests that you can buy online that don't test for pit bull ( from what I've heard most of them don't). If you buy one of those it might not show she's pit bull (because they don't test for it!) and you might be able to submit that....
ReplyDeletejust an idea...
Such a bummer. Can you talk to your management company and see if they would consider going to a different insurance company? Some flat out won't cover any type of pit bull or pit bull mix.
ReplyDeleteYou could try writing a good letter explaining her low risk status. She is a female, older, spayed (I assume) and she has no bite history so that all speaks in her favor. Data show that fatal injuries are almost always inflicted by young, unneutered males with a history of biting.
Also offer to have her taken for a temperament test. Some insurance companies will accept that.
Do you guys have renter's insurance already? And does it cover liability for Emmy Lou? Maybe if you have your own liability coverage the umbrella insurance company would be okay with it.
They can't evict you, because you clearly didn't have a dog exclusion in your original lease. But they could simply not renew your lease when it comes due so that isn't a huge help.
are you kidding? that's horrible...please let us know if we can do anything to help...sending xox & support...
ReplyDeleteGo, Mama Bear, go!
ReplyDeletethis is crazy! i only recently learned that pitbulls aren't allowed in certain cities - i had no idea. our pit mix does happen to be aggressive but that doesn't make me think all pits are aggressive. it's such an overgeneralization. good luck fighting this!
ReplyDeletewhat?! that is cray cray crazy. sorry, what a bummer. i really hope it works out for you.
ReplyDeleteI had to come out of quiet following to say how sorry i am your going through this. Its ridiculous the misconceptions people have about bulldogs. my boyfriends brother brought home the cutest,sweetest little girl about 6 months ago when his friend was going to abandon her. She is the biggest love bug, and still his mom wanted her gone just because she was a pit bull. Thankfully she came around and Ki is the resident kissing machine. Hopefully it will work out for you guys.
ReplyDeleteoh and beware of some of those DNA tests, they cam sometimes coome back very wrong is the dog have alot of different mixes in its line.