Dogs bark, cats scratch, fish tanks flood. Mud, feces, hair balls, fleas, allergies and holes dug in gardens are all bad enough, but note that even the world s sweetest and smallest hamster, out on the lam, can burn down an entire building by chewing through an electrical cord. Landlords are justified in not wanting to rent homes to bad pet owners. They are understandably dismayed at rulings by judges and recently, an arbitrator with the Residential Tenancy Office in Vancouver, that no-pets clauses are unreasonable and unenforceable. Given this trend, condominium councils may, like apartment owners, find themselves unable to enforce rules banning animals.
Pets owned by singles and especially the elderly keep loneliness at bay.
Pet companionship has been linked in medical studies with numerous health benefits. Animal groups, including the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, want discrimination against pet-owning tenants made illegal. The SPCA estimates that 15 per cent of pets in animal shelters are dumped by owners unable to keep them because pets are not allowed where they live. Pet owners and landlords seem to be far apart on this issue, but there is a solution. No one who dislikes or fears animals, or is allergic to them, should be forced to live near them.