Pet Rent??

[Martin Blank]

I don't have an issue with pet rent. I guess it's something that I've always taken as a normal practice, since it's so common.

I do have an issue with apartment complexes that require that cats to be declawed. Having had cats around for much of my life, including several that were outdoors cats and others that just liked to get outdoors sometimes, I have always considered it to be an inhumane procedure, and I don't think I've ever stayed at a place that allowed it. The excuses I've always heard have been related to potential damage, but the damage is likely to be to my furniture. It might be to the carpet, but they have the pet deposits to cover that.

One of the best ways to make a leasing agent squirm is to ask them how they would like it if someone cut the tendons in their hands so their fingers just flop around. This is particularly effective if they own pets themselves.

[billf]

In my last apartment the apartment next to mine had to be completely renovated because the previous renters had cats that refused to use the litter box and it destroyed the floor. Not just the carpet, but the entire floor had to be ripped up.

You don't always hear of "pet rent" because in apartment complexs they usually have a seperate area for pet owners and those apartments are simply more expensive than the no pet apartments.

[Deacon]

What's this about cutting tendons?

[Karmic]

I'm not fond of animal haters, being an animal lover personally. But consider this, even though humans may not be 'pets' we are still animals. So, if you don't like any other animal out there what does that say about your people skills at the same time? Those of you that stated you paid a pet deposit and pet rent all found what I tried to find. I paid $550 in pet deposits and then still pay pet rent. By the time I move out of here the apartment complex will have over $1000 of my hard earned money just so they can make an extra buck. And I know from experience that they will find a way to screw me out of the refundable part. Even if my cats do no damage, they will find a way. Of course I can look at it this way, at least they aren't charging me to park my truck on the property. Oh, and humans are noisy too. Live near a college and you learn that pretty quick. My current upstairs neighbors like to do what sounds like moving furniture every morning at about 3am. I've filed complaints in the last three apartments I've lived in and nothing ever got done about it. And these weren't cheap apartments either. Just poor management. Considering that customer service and respect are dead in this day and age, I expect no less from people when I have a complaint.

[PhoenixGeek]

I'd like to see what a place would say if you said you had a pet, but it was a human, and they stayed chained up when you weren't home and they were only allowed to potty outside.

[erik_otaku]

[quote="Greg Dean";p="561049"]
But my stance on pet rent is unchanged. Either you allow pets, or you don't. Pet rent is a bullshit middle-of-the-road fee.[/quote]

Aside from the very rare situation (or the pet apts), you get pet rent. About 5 years ago, you had an impossible time finding a place that allowed pets. Pet rent is their way of saying, "well, we want your business, and we understand that people have pets, but we are going to charge you rent, under the reasons for why the 80% of the other apartments dont allow it at all". Pretty much, without that, you would find it pretty hard to find a place that allows pets. Pet rent is their way of compensating the no-pet rule by making up for the damage/annoyance that most apartments ban pets for.

There are some apartments that are made for pet owners. I think you will find these ones a bit more expensive, and definitly more than just $30 extra per month, as would any apartment not charging pet rent.

If you have pets and leave open bottles of bleach sitting around, I imagine you must go through a lot of pets.

Bleach was just a random example. You get it out, you open it, someone calls with a huge emergency, you run out, forget that its there. It doesnt have to be bleach, or that example. It could be anything, perhaps something you would otherwise think didnt do any harm. Maybe they knock a lamp over that you forgot to turn off and it starts a fire. People expect you to leave your pets unattended to. You cant be there to watch them when you are at work.

On the other hand, pets don't play with matches, or color on the walls, or flush toys down the toilet... And, what, no one else has ever heard of a young kid peeing on the floor?

Bigity is right, its called discipline. You can normally point out those kids in school. An apartment is normally a small enough area that you can keep an eye out for most of it while you are there. If your "young kid" is running around on his own while you are away from the apt, you shouldnt be a parent. If you are there, he wont be playing with matches or drawing on the walls. I should hope that you would'n leave such temptations laying on the floor or in reach of them, but again, see above for parenting. A child pees in a diaper, or the tiolet. If they go in their pants, which can happen, its different. They arent dropping their pants and just whizzing on the floor. If they are, you might want to once again question your parenting skills.


Its all about the supervision. Pets arent supervised. you can train them, and hell, you might have the most obidient pet alive, but the landlord cant change the policy just because your pet is more obidient. A child might be able to do some damage in the 1 minute you look away, but a dog/cat with 8-10 hours of free time can have all sorts of fun.

[Deacon]

[quote="Karmic";p="561142"]I'm not fond of animal haters, being an animal lover personally. But consider this, even though humans may not be 'pets' we are still animals. So, if you don't like any other animal out there what does that say about your people skills at the same time?[/quote]
I was going to post something about how far back in my head my eyes rolled when I read this, but then I checked your profile and realized you're a 35 year old Austinite, so it's kind of been explained away.

[Mae Dean]

[quote="erik_otaku";p="561178"]Aside from the very rare situation (or the pet apts), you get pet rent. About 5 years ago, you had an impossible time finding a place that allowed pets. Pet rent is their way of saying, "well, we want your business, and we understand that people have pets, but we are going to charge you rent, under the reasons for why the 80% of the other apartments dont allow it at all". Pretty much, without that, you would find it pretty hard to find a place that allows pets. Pet rent is their way of compensating the no-pet rule by making up for the damage/annoyance that most apartments ban pets for.

There are some apartments that are made for pet owners. I think you will find these ones a bit more expensive, and definitly more than just $30 extra per month, as would any apartment not charging pet rent.[/quote]

But see, that's not true. During my apartment hunting of San Francisco, The City that Hates Pets®, only ONE of the fifteen places we looked at charged pet rent. And this is out of ONLY the places that allow pets - every single other one only charged a pet deposit. And in my ENTIRE life of searching for apartments, Park Merced REMAINS the only one I've ever heard of who charged pet rent. And I've moved around a lot over the past few years. So excuse me if I'm indignant over the subject - but since in my experience Park Merced is alone in charging pet rent (in MY experience, mind you), I choose not to deal with them at all. And frankly, I think I'm better off for it.

[Martin Blank]

[quote="Deacon";p="561077"]What's this about cutting tendons?[/quote]
Many vets don't recommend declawing older cats. One of the alternatives is the tendonectomy, where the tendons used to extend the claws is severed at each toe. Similar to declawing, this leaves the cat vulnerable because it can neither defend itself nor effectively climb objects to flee.

[Deacon]

Interesting. I'd never heard of it.

[arrenlex]

[quote="Karmic";p="561142"]But consider this, even though humans may not be 'pets' we are still animals. So, if you don't like any other animal out there what does that say about your people skills at the same time?[/quote]

Firstly, I don't hate animals, I hate dogs, specifically.

Secondly, even if I did, I don't see your point. I hate people too. More than I hate dogs, even.

[erik_otaku]

Eer, dunno about the "city that hates pets", but out here near baltimore, MD, and its surroundings, most places charge pet rent. The best part is none of them list it when you are looking through paper/online ads. The ones that dont charge "pet rent" just have higher prices, (which you can tell by comparisson to nearby apt complexes).

[darkstar2a]

Additionally there is a vet in Castro Valley (Canyon Veterinarian Hospital) who has developed a different procedure.

A small incision between each toe, he caurterizes the nail bed, the nail slips right out and does not grow back. They only keep them overnight for observation, they are back and on litter the NEXT DAY! No cone, no humiliation. And they acted exactly the same afterwards.

He only does the front paws (they fight with their back paws), but that eliminated 98% of the scratching.

Benefits: They keep their entire toes, they can still knead and 'retract' (even though there is nothing to do so to).

He's an amazing vet and after we used him the first time, we drove the 30 minutes each way to keep him as a our only vet care. Believe me, our cats did NOT have good car etiquite, however it was worth the horror of transportation for such a amazing vet.

We found him through word of mouth (because of this same procedure) and have recommended many to him. The ONLY time there was an issue was a cat that had a (previously undiagnosed) liver issue that caused some scarry issues after reacting to the anesthetic, however it would have been the same issue regardless of the procedure. We all believe that as quickly as that cat's health deteriorated, if it had been a more major surgery (either of the two other options) she may not have recovered at all. Happily she fully recovered as soon as they figured out what was wrong. And she is a very active, well adjust PITA. ROFL!!

Garth
P.S. He loves(d?) the old AOL Online CD's/Mailers. Did you know there is an underground culture that trades those? (Noone buys them, but the do actively trade). If you have any discs hanging around/burried/pinned to walls (some of them were actually pretty), he's someone that would be tickled to take them, especially if they are before 2000/2001. Just let me repeat, everyone knows they were free, he'll only swap (if your not outright donating to such a neat man).

[Deacon]

darkstar2a, what is this procedure called?

[darkstar2a]

Deacon, He calls it an onychectomy (like the other way of doing it is called) because it is still removal of the nail. Just he does not remove the knuckle so it's so much better of a procedure.

The original onychectomy is akin to a guillitine lopping off part or all of the first knuckle. I make my life (either when I'm cooking or in tech) with my hands. It's hard to comprehend that happening!!

Garth