Pet Problem or not? How do you see it?

I know this is not a welcome topic but it's a "first" for us and I think it's covered. We have an owner who has rented his condo to the owner of a Pit Bull. The owner has received notice to remove the dog. The owner replied that it is a not a Pit Bull but it is a Pit Bull/Lab mix. To us on the BOD, "it is a Pit Bull" period. The owner says the AKC does not recognize Pit Bull as a dog breed. On the other hand, the UKC does. But no where do our condo rules refer to either as the reference. I see it as up to the BOD. The owner has been notified to remove the dog and the fines were defined in the letter. He has sent a letter that he wants arbitration which is clearly allowed as stated in the By-Laws below.

The president has a three owner committee ready for a meeting with the owner and it seems like a waste of time. Perhaps the owner plans to take this further to court?

Here is how it reads in our By-Laws since 2002

a. The following breeds of dogs are not permitted anywhere on the premises: Doberman, German Shepherd, Wolf Hybrid, Pit Bull, and Rottweiler. The board may expand the prohibited breed list at any time.

With the exception of a service animal required for disability reasons, unit occupants and visitors are not allowed to bring prohibited animals onto

h. A unit owner may appeal an action taken by the board pursuant to the Declaration, By-Laws, and these Rules, Regulations, and Architectural Control Standards. The unit owner may file a written appeal to the board. Upon receipt of an appeal, the president of the board shall appoint a grievance committee. The grievance committee shall consist of three unit owners who are not members of the board, relatives of the appealing unit owner, or persons otherwise interested in the matter. A hearing shall be conducted by the grievance committee within 15 days of the written appeal request. The hearing shall be informal.

(1) The grievance committee may uphold the action of the board, annul the action of the board, and/or take any action authorized by the Declaration, By-Laws, or these Rules, Regulations, and Architectural Control Standards. Within ten days of the hearing, the grievance committee shall deliver or mail a written decision to the board and the appealing unit owner. The decision of the grievance committee shall be final, not subject to appeal, and binding for all parties as of the date it is delivered or mailed to the appealing unit owner. Any fines imposed by the board shall remain a viable lien during the grievance procedure.

(2) If any unit owner fails to comply with the Declaration, By-Laws, or these Rules, Regulations, and Architectural Control Standards, or with any decision rendered under the By-Laws or these rules, the unit owner may be sued for damages or corrective action, or both, by the board. The association, if it prevails, is entitled to an award for attorney, legal, and other fees as determined by the court.

Darlene

Your bylaws (actually it seems to b your Rules) say, "The board may expand the prohibited breed list at any time." So you do want to expand the list to read
"... or any mix of preceding," or some such. I'm sure that there's standard language.

The question is can your new rule include the dog that's already there? I'd actually say no, since your rule states pit bull, but not mix.
Sorry, I know that's not very helpful.

Is this dog causing problems? Is your HOA detached homes? Or condo/elevator building? Ours is the latter and we have no dog breed restriction. But in CA, we as a Board may order a dog muzzled if it is aggressive. And we may have dogs removed for the same reason. Do you have any such municipal or state codes that give your board that authority?

You also might want to research this site--it seems to me this questions came up a year or two ago.

He is being fined as we speak, it is a daily fine accumulating.

We do not have central hallways, 8 units up/down per building. We all have our own outside access.

Is the dog problematic? Yes, it is against our rules owners are complaining about it being here. I have no idea if it is aggressive but we have complaints simply because it is here and should not be. The dog's owner also does not faithfully clean up after it and that's a problem.

This county has no restrictions regarding Pit Bulls although all around us they do. The animal "experts" for this community are directly across the street - it is a humane society. They have been known to adopt out Pit Bulls. On the other hand, if folks here want to have a dog they write to this Board to ask about any restrictions we have.

I think this is not going to be easily resolved but I will come back to give you the results if I can find this post again.

D

Perhaps this is a question for the Association's attorney as it relates to the interpretation of the documents?

If the Board has knowledge of the dog and the violation of the restriction, does not enforce the restriction, and the dog attacks someone....is the Board/HOA at risk of a lawsuit? If the dog is a mixed breed, does that influence the validity of a lawsuit? Questions for an attorney.

Yes Tim, I did. At least I thought I did so I searched for it a couple of times. I could not find it again so I figured it was a different web site that I did that one.

If it offended you or the terms I do apologize.

D