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Bonney Lake, WA: Mobile home park’s sudden breed ban angers dog owners
Posted: 20 Oct 2009 06:53 PM PDT
http://www.komonews.com/news/problemsolvers/64886947.html
Mobile home park’s sudden breed ban angers dog owners
Published: Oct 19, 2009 at 11:13 PM PDT
By Ray Lane
BONNEY LAKE, Wash. — New management means new problems for pet owners at the Quiet Meadows Mobile Home Park.
Certain dog breeds are being evicted, and the mandate is causing plenty of heartbreak.
Many of the residents say they intentionally moved to the park so they could have different kinds of dogs. But now, things are changing, and painful decisions are being made.
“These are my kids,” said Monet Hendrickson of her part-Rottweiler pooches. “It’s like telling me I have to get rid of my children.”
New management cites its insurance policy prompted the decision, but to Hendrickson, that’s not reason enough.
“It’s something that should have been addressed when I signed my first initial rental lease contract, and any contract thereafter. The dogs have not been in hiding for nine years,” she said.
The surprise announcement has left Hendrickson and other families scrambling to figure out what their legal tenant-rights might be, and what to do with their pets in the meantime.
The owners of Brutus, a mixed-breed pit bull, have already sent him away to live with other family members.
“Oh, my God, for my boyfriend, it was bad,” said Leeann Miller. “He did a lot of crying, because he was worried we were putting him to sleep.”
Robbyn Richter has a Labrador named Smokey Bear. Labs are not affected by the change, but Richter still believes what’s happening is unfair.
“I don’t appreciate that they would have to get rid of their animals based on a breed,” she said. “They’re not harming anybody. They’re not doing anything wrong. They’re all fenced in.”
For residents on tight incomes, there’s no room for thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees to challenge the property owner’s decision.
So Hendrickson is already preparing for the worst, and preparing to say goodbye to her beloved dogs.
“I’m the little fish. The insurance company is the big fish. I don’t have money to fight them,” she said.
Hendrickson is trying to find a new home for her dogs, fearful that they may not get out of an animal shelter alive.
KOMO made several attempts to talk to the management, but our calls were not returned.
