A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:My question isn't relevant to love but I don't really know where else to turn for advice.I moved out on my own 6 months ago. You could say I've led a sheltered life and am perhaps a bit naive. I'm 22 and this is my first time living alone, and I'm learning plenty from my mistakes.At the time of moving in, I had no pets. I am renting, but pets never came up in conversation whilst sorting out the contracts etc. So I thought nothing of taking on my aunt's Chihuahua, as she is unable to care for her anymore.She's 6 months old, housetrained, and very obedient. She doesn't bark or make much noise.The other day my landlord called and said he had had a complaint about a dog in my flat. It must have only been one occasion that she might have barked while I was at work (I only work 4 hours at a time). Most of the time she comes with me or goes to my Mum's house, who has another dog, for company.He asked me, did I know I was not allowed to have dogs, as stated inj my contract. As I said, I'm naive, and this is my first time living on my own, plus pets was never brought upwhen I was moving in.I panicked and said the dog was my Mums and I had been looking after it. He said ok, nothing more to say, and ended the conversation.Now I'm panicking. What do I do?
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reader, anonymous, writes (17 December 2007): You need to check your contract hun, if you had no pets and no plan to have them at the time of your move, you quite possibly skimmed over that part as you felt it was irrelevant to you.
I also must say that your dog is probably an angel whilst you are there but the minute you are away, her behaviour probably changes. This could befor many reasons.
You can either keep you dog there and risk further complaints leading to possible eviction (which I did for a few years when I was renting)
I would reccommend taking the dog for a walk - at least 30 mins before you go out to work, this will leave her in 'wind down' mode when you go out, which should stop her making any noise.
Or alternately (which I eventually did) approach your letting agents or landlord about the flexibility with having a dog, explain that your mom can no longer keep her ( so it doesnt look like you lied) and see what he says. I offered to pay for the carpets to be cleaned when my tenancy was up, to eliminate and dog hairs or dirt that may have been on them. Only prob with this option is if the answer stands as no, then he will be on the look out.
Hope you find the kindest answer for the dog, even if that be another family member taking her on. x
A
female
reader, birdynumnums  +, writes (17 December 2007):
 In the meanwhile, your landlord needs 24 hours notice before he enters your apartment. Make sure to keep only the minimum of doggie things and that your apartment is not covered with doggie clutter. The go on-line, and get a machine that controls your dogs barking. They plug into the wall and emit a sound that only dogs hear to stop them from barking. You make not have heard it, but it must be that your dog is barking while you are away, and chihuahuas have a very piercing, sharp bark that can be heard through walls. If your dog isn't being complained about, you probably stand a chance of him ignoring this first offence, rules or no rules. Keep your eyes and ears open for a sub-let that may take dogs, just in case, and start trying to sub-let your place, should the worst happen.
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 December 2007): Whilst this question is from someone of another country, it is an area of my expertise. It's as simple as others have stated, 'what does your contract say?'. Unfortunately ignorance is not a defence in relation to the law. If it says no animals, that's exactly what it means. Check your contract.Secondly if you want to keep the dog, and have lied to your landlord that it was just visiting, then you need to rectify this. It's all very well to justify your dog, but with leases and contracts, it makes no difference. If your landlord lets you have a dog, then he will have a hard time with his other tenants and people will get pissed off that you have gotten away with it. All you can really do is protect yourself legally and try to make good you lie.Tell him the truth that the dog is yours and you desperately want to keep it. Could he alter the contract. If not you will need to get rid of the dog or find somewher else where it is allowed.You must read things before you sign them!. All too often people say they didn't read the detail of something which they then have issues with later. Don't make the same mistake twice.
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female
reader, leanne.od +, writes (16 December 2007):
 check through and read your contract thoroughly. you need to see if when at the time of you signing the agreement and terms of lease, if it does in fact state that pets are not acceptable. it will always say "no pets" or " no childdren" and if it does, unfortunately you will need to give up the dog if the landlord so wishes.
however, if you cannot see the aforementioned statement anywhere in the contract then it is not viable for him to tell you it was agreed, which you should explain to him but remember, it is his flat so he may be able to ask you to get rid of the dog, and i'd imagine you would need to adhere to it, as it is his property. but if you are set against it, seek advice from a solicter, just to see where you would stand on grounds that it wasn't made apparent to you at the time of signing.
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reader, anonymous, writes (16 December 2007): Does it state anywhere in your rental contract about pets? Better off, just ask her. The worse thing she can say is no pets are allowed. If you keep going on like this, there's a possibility you may get evicted due to having pets in your home.
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female
reader, elliebellie +, writes (16 December 2007):
hiya!
i would keep the dog until your landlord tells you otherwise. he said ok, so that wasnt a no.
hope this helps
please feel free to mail me about anything else you wanna talk about.
lol
ellie
xxx
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