The " Pet's battle " war !

More and more people are living in apartment style accommodation and the rules that Owner's Corporations can apply are ever tightening.   One of the " rules " that causes anguish concerns the keeping of pets.  Intending owners now often find that the covenant of tenancy strictly forbids the presence of dogs or cats.

Unfortunately, this can be applied  in retrospect.  If the majority of owners decide to change the rules, someone who has had a pet and lived in the building for years can face an order for their cherished pet to be evicted.   In some cases, anti-pet fanatics ban the keeping of a love bird - or even gold fish.

Pet owners will be pleased to hear that one family used ingenuity to save their Jack Russel terrier from such a fate.    The owner had a hearing defect and he had the dog trained to be a " hearing dog ".   As part of the service rendered, the dog would softly bark to alert him when someone knocked on the door, rang the doorbell - or he had an incoming phone call.  It was also trained to raise the alarm if the smoke detector sounded in the night.

This owner applied to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, who conferred on it the title of " Hearing Dog " to make it legal for the animal to be taken on public transport, ride in Taxis and be taken into shops and restaurants - in a similar manner to the rights of " Seeing Eye " dogs - excluding them  from any form of tenancy ban.

In this case, the owners corporation has lodged appeals - and spent more than $ 50,000 trying to achieve victory.  It brings into perspective the angst that these pet laws can generate.

It is also a solution that may appeal to those desperate to get around such a pet ban - and it is open to interpretation.    The hearing aid people usually conduct free hearing tests and these involve asking the applicant to listen for sounds and press a buzzer to indicate hearing levels.   A failed test confirms that the person is " hearing impaired " to some extent - and opens the door for the need for a " hearing dog ".

Now that success presents a new problem for the owners of cats with tenancy problems.   Exactly what service can cats provide to bring them in under this legal umbrella ?