"...and your little dog, too!"

Earlier this summer - when we'd finished up 102 (the first vacancy of the summer) we received the good news that a woman named Margaret had signed a lease and was moving in that Tuesday.  Terrific news! 

The apartment was ready except for a shelf in the refrigerator.  At noon on Tuesday I dropped by to install the shelf in the fridge.   I knocked but there was no answer.  So I knocked again and let myself in - announcing myself as I went. 

I saw boxes, evidence that Margaret had started moving her stuff in.  But instead of human voice, or silence, I heard barking in response to my calls.  Not one dog - but two dogs, barking furiously from the kitchen.  And there, in a crate in the kitchen sat two little dogs yapping their little lungs out.  Sigh. 

After putting the shelf in the fridge, I went back to the car to find a paper.  I left a 'welcome' note on Margaret's door that went something like this: 

"Margaret - welcome!  I'm glad to have you here and hope you enjoy your time here, but the dogs absolutely cannot stay.  You must either get rid of the dogs or leave."

After posting the note, I promptly called the Property Manager.  She, being a more compassionate person than I, scurried around and not only found her another place to live that afternoon, but also sent her handi-guy out to help Margaret relocate the boxes she had already moved. 

I don't regret taking such an active stance on the first day.  Early in our landlord experience I was far more 'grey' and more willing to relent, but we've battled the dog owners so many times and literally paid the price, that the issue has become black and white, and shadows of grey have been washed away. 

So, the message is loud and clear.  Tenants are welcomed with open arms, but their little dog is as welcome as Toto in the Wicked Witch of the West's castle.