Bittersweet Situation...

Find another house! :( There are a million homes out there you can grow into or fix up. There's only one dog that belongs to you. :)

Bummer. But I'm with you, I could never give up my dogs. First of all, I love them. Second of all, I wouldn't want to teach the message to the kids that we give up on something that we love and have a commitment to care for because it's "convenient." I know that it's more complicated than that, but kids tend to see things in black and white.

I hope you find something that works for you.

Maybe if you offer to double the deposit?

:)

I second Theresea and offer to double the deposit..if he says no, see if you can offer to pay an extra $50.00 per month on the rent...also bring pix of the puppy, pix of your current house so he can see the dog is not going to ruin.
You can also offer to sign a waiver that says if the animal ruins anything in the house, you will be 100% liable.

I wouldn't even look at the house. I would first talk to the landlord about any possiblilty of changing the pet policy. If the landlord won't budge, then I wouldn't even torture myself by seeing the house.

Find another house that suits your needs.

It isn't fair for you to have to give up your dog.

But, it also isn't fair for the landlord who owns the house to have it potentially be damaged by a pet. Maybe they've had problems with tenants who had dogs in the past, promising that they were good pets but then the pet provided them with nothing but headaches. I can totally understand why a landlord wouldn't want a pet in their investment.

The best resolution is to find something that suits both your needs and your wants. Keep looking.

What would I do? When looking for houses, the first words out of my mouth would be "Do you allow pets?" and if they say "No", then I'd thank them for their time and cross the option off my list.

I have rented WITH a dog and I have owned rentals.
I love animals, but I do not blame any landlord for banning pets.

If I were you, I'd go and look and see if he/she is open to allowing the dog for an extra security deposit or small additional monthly fee.

If not, I'd keep looking.

Good luck!

i'll be the bad guy. i went to RIDICULOUS lengths to keep my kitties when i was broke and single (including giving the title to my car to a boarding place as surety that i would repay them), but that was before i had kids.
i wouldn't just toss doggie in a shelter, but if i could find a nice home for him in order to get a great house for my kids?
yeah. i'd do it.
khairete
S.

Take a picture of the dog with you, along with a picture of your backyard, and maybe of some of the 'trouble areas' usually associated with dogs. (baseboards, doors, etc.) to show the LACK of damage.

I am assuming that you are renting? If so can your current landlord or previous ones to write a letter stating they have never had any problems with the dog? We had to do this once, the landlord said no big dogs, but once we gave them the letters from our landlords they were ok with it. Worth a shot! Good luck!

i would NEVER give up one of my dogs, but the fact that you are even asking this question tells me that you may feel a little differently...

if it were ME, i'd talk to the landlord again, by phone/email, and ask if there is ANY way that he'd allow you to keep a dog in the home - more deposit, pet rent each month, affidavits from your current landlord that your dog hasn't damaged anything, vet records to show proof of vacccinations - anything that would sway him to allow you to keep the dog. if he said no, i would move on. i wouldn't want to waste my time or his on something that's just not gonna work out.

i've been in a similar situation. my husband's dream job fell out of the sky from across the country when we had a newborn, a toddler, and four dogs(the fifth had just passed away). we had to relocate inside of an 8 week timeframe. we put the house on the market right away, but it hadn't sold by the time we had to make arrangements of where to live. we ended up renting a house that was not as nice as we would have liked, BUT, we were able to bring all of our dogs. it is NOT easy to find a rental with four dogs, especially when one is a doberman! we found a home with "pets allowed", and i emailed the owner with our entire situation. i attached pictures of the inside of our home, our family, and our dogs - and i offerred to sign a separate contract addressing our responsibility regarding any and all damages our pets cause(though they never had caused damage before), and offered to pay for a professional carpet cleaning every 6 months that we lived there. thankfully, he was a dog lover and didn't even require all that i offered. we actually got a contract on our home the day we moved, and although we had signed a 12 month lease, we only stayed in the home about 6 weeks - we found a home to purchase and that was my first time in a rental - i was eager to get back into "my" home - we learned that when a deal is sweet enough, just about everything is negotiable!

the point of all this is - it can't hurt to ask. but, if you're really not gonna give up your dog, you're prob wasting your time and his by pursuing this. just keep looking - the right house WILL turn up.

I don't understand why you are even wasting your time, and the landlords, by viewing this house. You are a pet owner, and as you said, your pet is like one of your kids...would you consider viewing a home that was in an area that didn't allow kids? It's kind of the same thing. Usually when landlords say no pets, it is for a reason and they are unlikely to change their minds. I would probably call the landlord back and ask him if there is any way he would consider bending the rules for your dog, and if he says no, apologize for wasting his time and cancel the appointment. I have (almost) always had dogs, and have never even considered looking at a rental property that would not allow them...even when I WAS pet-less, because I knew the possibility of my being ready to get a dog was there, so I planned for that.

If you have a willing doctor, you may have him/her write out a prescription that your dog is your "companion" animal. Landlords (at least in california) cannot deny an animal if it has been prescribed by a doctor for stress purposes. You could try that. Maybe take pictures of your current home and let the new landlord see that your dog has not destroyed anything. The only thing about dogs in the home is that they usually ruin the carpet, even if they dont pee on it the place just reeks of dog after someone moves out and the carpet requires replacement or more expensive cleaning. Landlords dont like to be called by the neighbors to be told the pet is being a nuisance either.... so I see why they have the no pet policy. It can be a pain for a landlord.

If you cant change the landlords mind, find a new place to live. My dogs are my family, ad id never even think about rehoming them.

My parents gave away our dog to get a different house and I never fully forgave them (in part because they did so while I was at school and lied to me about it). I'm not saying this to make a difficult choice harder, but I think that if the dog is that important, you should not be looking at homes that won't allow your dog.

In addition to the other suggestions you can crate train your dog and crate him when people are not in the house. We do this with our three dogs so they don't chew on the kids' toys and it's fine. Yes, we're gone 8 hours a day for three days a week, but since the dogs get yard time and 2 half-hour walks a day I think they're fine. Dogs are pretty lazy. In fact, as I'm getting ready to get out of the house, they go and lie down in their crates anyway, waiting for me to lock them in. They get kind of impatient if I'm running late.
If you offer to increase the deposit and the monthly rent, and get good references from previous landlords, and include a clause in the lease about restoring the yard to original condition, and he still won't, then you find another place.

Hi R.,

If I were in your shoes, I would definitely KEEP MY DOG and keep looking for a house. My dog is my furry child and I could not leave her behind because of a house. (She is sleeping in her doggie bed beside me as I type this:-)

My husband is a realtor and I know from listening to all that he has to say about the housing market that there are plenty of houses to pick from. As I often hear him saying..... "It's a buyer's market right now, that's for sure." Although it sounds like you are renting since you said landlord. Still..... there are plenty of landlords looking for renters and if he won't cut you some slack with whether your dog stays or not, I'd move on and get back on the MLS or tell your realtor to continue looking. (There are realtors who assist with rentals.... they would normally just get half month's rent FROM the landlord.

From your post, I can tell just how much you love your dog, too. KEEP your sweetie pie! I think you would regret so much if you didn't bring him along to the next chapter in your family's life together.

Take care,
J.

Before you jump to conclusions, look at the house first. If you actually want it and like it, then deal with the situation.

If you want the house, just be honest with the landlord. I would never give up a pet for a house...I just wouldn't do it. That's a member of your family. I've been in many situations where we've talked a landlord into a pet or found out that a house we thought was perfect wasn't actually the perfect house.

So take it a step at a time and cross that bridge when you get there. If you can sell yourself on all other things like a good renter, good history, good credit, whatever...you can probably talk them into the dog. May have to compromise and say outdoor dog only or something.

Be willing to pay an extra pet security deposit and deal with any damage, etc. that pup will cause - they have accidents, get upset, etc. so SOMETHING will happen to the rug, whatever. Money talks, and if you're upfront about taking responsibility and returning the property to as-is condition, you may have better luck with getting the pup ok'd. Good luck!

I have had to give up a dog before for the betterment of my family. It was REALLY hard!! Unfortunately, a lot of landlords do not allow pets. He may be willing if you pay a pet deposit?? Have you offered that? I have had a pet deposit be up to $500, but normally it is around $300. I am really sorry that you are having to make this tough decision. I do not envy you at all!! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY that God will open up his heart to you and your family including your pet!! Prayer works!!

oooh R.!!!

I would talk to the landlord after you see the house. Explain to the landlord that your dog is like one of your children and good boy!!!

If the house is perfect - the dog will come too!! THAT will make it perfect!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

I don't have a dog, but I don't think I could just give it up. That is actually why we don't have a dog. If I was in your situations I would:
-make my final offer to this landlord and offer to pay a pet deposit, if he say no then I would just keep looking for other place, maybe if after a few months is neither of you have find something he would call you back.
-or, I will ask a family member or a close friend that can as is willing to have my dog for a year to keep an eye on my dog, at the end of the year lease, maybe this landlord got to know you and see that you are a responsible couple and that his house is being well take care so he may change his mind, if he was still not change his mind then I would look for another place at least that should gave you 3 or more moths to find a new place and get reunited with your pup.
Oh men, R., you can say your life is everything but not boring, I am like that too, lol.