October 1, 2103--Dog Wars

"Did you see what they got for the apartment across the hall?" Rona was reading her favorite section of the Sunday Times--Real Estate.

"Not yet. I'm still reading about Iran."

"It's not as nice as ours and it went for . . ."

"Don't tell me. I have a weak heart. But I do know that prices for any apartment Downtown have gone through the roof and anything for sale is rarely on the market for more than a few days."

"I really don't get it," Rona said. "In truth there's nothing special about our building except maybe one thing."

"What's that?"

"Location. For some reason everyone in Manhattan seems to want to live Downtown and there are relatively few places; and, also, because of zoning they aren't building any more apartment houses."

"Location, location, location. A place like ours in Cleveland would probably go for $200,000."

"If that. But one more thing."

"What's that?"

"We're a pet-friendly building."

"Good point. More and more places in the city don't allow pets."

"And we do allow them. So those who have dogs and don't want to live in the suburbs are willing to pay a premium for buildings that allow pets. Like our building."

"So I should like the fact that those two guys down the hall, living in a small one-bedroom, had three hunting dogs who howled at the moon in the middle of the night?"

"Thankfully they finally moved out. But, yes, from an economic point of view we should be happy we're friendly to dogs."

"I hate having so many in the building, but I guess you're right," I sighed. "Lucky us."

"But listen to what else is going on," Rona had continued to thumb through the Real Estate section.

"Fire away."

"In a lot of fancy Manhattan buildings that don't allow pets people are claiming they need so-called 'service' and 'companion' dogs."

"No surprise. I knew this was about to become a big issue. Finding alleged medical reasons to get around house bylaws."

"Including St. Bernards."

"St. Bernards as companion dogs? I love it. And probably in a 700-square-foot apartment where the dog requires at least 200-square-feet for himself."

"Be serious," Rona said, "There are lots of situations where having a dog is good for one's health and safety. Seeing-eye dogs, for example."

"Without doubt, but I'm sure if you read the entire article we're not talking just about dogs for blind people."

"You're right," Rona said, "There are examples cited in the article where apartment owners say that having a dog helps get them out of the house--they have to be walked two or three times a day--and that having to walk one's dog provides them with the opportunity to exercise. Which in turn is good for their health."

"And, I assume, they use this reasoning to seek approval from their co-op boards to get a waiver to allow them to have a dog."

"Yes. Though listen to this--someone claimed that he had a version of Parkinson's that made him unstable on his feet. The board asked for a letter from his doctor to verify this. And based on it granted a waiver. But then a couple of weeks later they saw the person with 'Parkinson's' running in Central Park without his dog."

"I love it. So what did they do?"

"The rescinded the waiver."

"It's really complicated. There's evidence that older people who live alone live longer and are healthier if they have a pet than those who don't."

"Any kind of pet?" Rona asked.

"I don't remember."

"So maybe people should start off with goldfish to see how they do."

"You're bad."