Moving with a Large Breed Dog

Moving with a Large Breed Dog

By: Britney Anderson

Moving with pitbulls, and other large breed dogs can be “ruff”. Here are a couple tips for getting your pup in your dream place.

I just moved with my pitbull, Shadow, who like a lot of pits I know, is an absolute softie. He wouldn’t hurt a fly so I figured finding an apartment wouldn’t be that tough. Well, it’s definitely harder than I expected.

My last place was owned by a family friend so Shadow was never an issue, turns out a lot apartments don’t allow pitbulls or a variety of larger dogs in. Many of their websites listed resident safety as a reason or explained that it was just too risky for the apartment. The properties I found that did allow pits were either too pricey, too far, or did not meet my requirements. So here’s how I got around it.

One. Make a pet resume.

Now this seems silly to some people, but pet resumes are surprisingly helpful for larger breeds. Pet resumes let you give someone a concise sheet of why your dog rocks and with a cute picture this can melt some landlords’ hearts. Check out the site I used to make mine here.

Two. Call your prospective landlords/property managers.

The only way you’re going to get into an apartment that isn’t pit-friendly is by talking to them. I narrowed my list to a few different properties and started calling. Many flat out rejected me, that’s okay though, I moved on. I found a few who would be willing to take on a pup, on a case by case basis. That was good! I emailed the resume or dropped it off to most places, and every time I went in person the landlord or front desk person thought it was very thoughtful and cute. Which is great!

Three. Set up a tour of the apartment and talk about your pup.

This is important. I toured all the apartments by myself first and met the people who might be my future landlords. This way I could see the apartment and they could meet me. Bring a smile and have a good time, you’re looking for a new home after all. Poke around and see if you’d be comfortable here with your pup. Ask questions and tell them all the great things about your dog. You can get a pretty good idea whether or not it’s worth going to step four from here. This is also a good time to give them the resume in case you weren’t able to email it over in step two.

Four. Set up a meet-and-greet with your pup.

Now’s your chance! Show your landlord how lovely your pup is. Take them for a run first though, tire them out as much as possible and give them a bath. You don’t want them to think their apartment is going to smell when you live there. Also, bring some treats. I did this for Shadow and the couple of people that got to this stage were very impressed with the few tricks he knew how to do for treats and how sweet he was.

Five. Choose your new home.

After all this I ended up choosing a house that I had taken Shadow on a meet-and-greet to that had a yard (what a plus). My current landlord apparently had the restrictions in place because years back a pitbull had destroyed a couple of doors and scratched up the walls. This was because the owner had locked him in a bedroom when he left some weekends without a crate or anything. Definitely not an issue to be attributed to his breed.

In conclusion, some places that say no large breeds might do so because there are many problematic large dogs out there. Proving to your landlord that your pup shouldn’t be grouped in is very crucial. Moving with a large dog is also tricky too! Here are some resources I found extremely helpful in getting my pup to and from safely and that kept him calm. Personally, I’d also recommend a thundershirt or some type of similar piece of anxiety-wear.

Good luck!

Resourceful links:

• Pet resume
• Pups in cars  
• Moving adjustments 
• Renting with your dog 
• BadRap's Renting with your Dog

For more resources regarding your pet, go to SVPP - Resources.

Animal Rescue Needs a Reboot

Dudley, Former Foster Dog

Most people typically don't understand much about the world of animal rescue. Most know that there are animal shelters in their communities, but few have ever given much thought to their inner workings, nor those of animal rescue organizations. Much like questioning where your food comes from, most people don't really want to know too many details.

In San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, we have a municipally-run animal shelter, the San Jose Animal Care Center, which is one of the largest on the West Coast. In 2015, this shelter took in over 14,000 scared, lost, injured and sick animals from its jurisdiction of San Jose, Milpitas, Saratoga, Cupertino and Los Gatos — an area representing over 1.2 million people. Many of these animals don't qualify to go up for adoption at the shelter due to illness, age, fear, or behavioral issues. Sadly, these animals face the risk of euthanasia because the shelter has neither the space nor the resources to care for them. It falls to the community’s animal rescue organizations to "rescue" these pets, provide them with the care they need, and find them permanent homes.

This situation is altogether too common across the country. San Jose’s shelter is well-run and operated by dedicated, hard-working people who save thousands of animals each year. But the reality is that there are just too many animals in need. As more and more communities strive to become “No Kill,” rescue organizations are becoming even more critical to the “business” of saving lives.

But the status quo is that many rescue organizations are struggling to accomplish their life-saving mission in the face of major challenges: all-volunteer workforces, extreme shortages of foster homes, extraordinary vet expenses, and lack of infrastructure, just to name a few. Despite the fact that U.S. consumers spend over $62 million each year on pet products and supplies, most rescue organizations are chronically under-funded. All of this takes a tremendous toll on well-intentioned volunteers who can easily fall victim to compassion fatigue and burnout. The result is that many of these organizations gradually erode or outright collapse as volunteers leave and finances dwindle.

Local shelters cannot succeed without partnering with effective animal rescue organizations, and yet these organizations are themselves often not empowered to succeed. Animal rescue needs a reboot — a fundamental reinvention for a new century.

What does this mean? It means that animal rescue should no longer be viewed as a hobby, but rather as a challenging business that is critical to the animal welfare landscape, and an important indicator of how a community values their pets.

There is and will always be a gap between what our local shelters can do with the resources they have, and what is needed to help the pets who need us the most. This gap can no longer be adequately filled by only well-meaning volunteers. We need to establish a viable business model for animal rescue that is creative, sustainable, and attracts talented professionals to help solve this problem.

Rebooting animal rescue means:

1 - A fundamental shift in viewing the cause of saving lives as a business that brings tremendous value and heart to a community;

2 - Hiring and paying professionals (in all areas of the business) who dedicate their time and talent in this pursuit, and paying them a living wage;

3 - Investing in infrastructure such as technology to make the business run efficiently and scale;

4 - Seeking out partnerships with other nonprofits (animal welfare, community, and education), community businesses, and corporations who support the business of saving lives;

5 - Transforming the dialog and the experience from one of sadness to a celebration of a pet's life by creating positive, engaging, and unique community centers for pet lovers that draw people in so they can learn, mingle and enjoy a pet’s company.

I remain optimistic about the future of animal welfare, especially in our community, if we can harness the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley and disrupt the status quo. After all, what better business to be in than the business of unconditional love?

Pictured above is my beloved foster dog Dudley. He was picked up by Animal Control in January 2016 in East San Jose, emaciated and very sick. This young dog needed extensive medical diagnostics and treatment that the shelter could not provide. My organization, Silicon Valley Pet Project (SVPP), rescued and rehabilitated this special dog. SVPP is an all volunteer 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission of saving local at-risk shelter pets through rescue, community involvement and education. We are actively working to apply the principles outlined above.

The Dancing Cat Partners with Silicon Valley Pet Project to Bring Back The Dancing Cat

Press Release:  For Immediate Release

Contacts

Melissa Lisbon, President, Silicon Valley Pet Project

(408) 637-1282; melissa@svpetproject.org

Ann Chasson, Co-Founder, The Dancing Cat

(650) 906-4876; ann@thedancingcat.org

Mary Rubin, Co-Founder, The Dancing Cat

(415) 999-0257; mary@thedancingcat.org

The Dancing Cat Partners with Silicon Valley Pet Project

Seeking location to re-open in San Jose

SAN JOSE, CA - April 7, 2016—Silicon Valley’s first cat adoption lounge, The Dancing Cat, is back better than ever with the announcement of  a new partnership with Silicon Valley Pet Project (SVPP).  SVPP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal rescue organization that rescues at-risk cats and dogs from the San Jose Animal Care Center, Silicon Valley’s largest municipal animal shelter.

The Dancing Cat was originally conceived as a four-week pop-up lounge in downtown San Jose in May, 2015, designed to help potential adopters meet and become acquainted with adoptable pets.  The Dancing Cat was so embraced by the community, that it remained active and of service to the public for six months. More than 50 adult cats were adopted, 12 community events were held in the space, and over 2,000 visitors passed through the doors.

Building on the organization’s success, The Dancing Cat's founders Mary Rubin and Ann Chasson are joining with Silicon Valley Pet Project to create a permanent space for people to meet, mingle and spend time with adoptable cats. The main goal of the partnership is to find loving forever homes for adult cats who are at risk in the shelter by providing a free-roaming, comfortable and safe space for these cats to be showcased.  Additionally, the project seeks to present a unique venue for social and educational events in the community.

To date, SVPP has primarily focused on foster parents and local adoption events to rehome rescued animals, but that strategy is expanding.

“We were incredibly inspired by Ann’s and Mary’s commitment and passion to feature adoptable adult cats in such a creative way,” said Melissa Lisbon, President of Silicon Valley Pet Project.  “The adult cats SVPP selected to be featured at The Dancing Cat were quickly adopted by wonderful families. We are excited to join forces in our common mission to save more lives in our community through innovative initiatives.  The Dancing Cat represents the Silicon Valley spirit by addressing a challenge with a fresh perspective: the animal welfare challenge of the overpopulation of adult cats in our local shelters.”

The Dancing Cat team is currently searching for a suitable permanent location in the San Jose area.  Anyone with information about a possible available location can contact thedancingcat@svpetproject.org. The project is accepting financial donations towards the reopening of The Dancing Cat on its website.

“It was exciting to see how enthusiastically the space was embraced,  resulting in so many successful adoptions,” Rubin said.  “We in the volunteer and nonprofit arenas can make a bigger impact on a problem like homeless pets when we work together, leverage our passion and learnings.  We look forward to continuing The Dancing Cat with SVPP's contributions of both talent and support.”

About

The Dancing Cat is a passion project developed by a small group of cat lovers and creatives who work to improve the quality of life for the cats in Silicon Valley. We are dedicated to connecting these valuable members of our community with their forever homes in a responsible way. Recognizing that there are many cat lovers amongst us, we also hope The Dancing Cat will provide opportunities for new partnerships among people who are contributing to the vibrancy and creativity of our community. www.thedancingcat.org

Silicon Valley Pet Project (SVPP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of volunteers committed to saving local at-risk shelter pets through rescue, community involvement and education.  www.svpetproject.org

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