Promises, Promises

Those who doubt the importance of "dog friendly" in selling condominiums need only read about the recent case of residents of the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia (they have condo units) who were promised a dog park on the premises. "The park meant a lot to me, and to be able to sit there with Louie and listen to the fountain in the center of the city, was heaven," said resident Helen Laman.

Indeed it was a selling point for the developer whose promotional material touted the presence of an on-site dog park. But just recently, due to some unscrupulous behavior of some dog owners, the park has been closed to dogs. And the developer has been heard to say that there ever was a dog park.

What about the poor residents, like Laman, who bought their place because of the existence of the dog park. Well they are forced to go elsewhere, which is nowhere as convenient as going right downstairs.

Which brings me to the issue of dogs in condos. Every building has its own set of rules. Some pertain to size, some to weight and there usually is a ban on more than a certain number of dogs. Private buildings are permitted to establish whatever rules they want, but they should not establish some rules and then pretend they never existed.

At the root of the dispute is the age old dispute over cleaning up after oneself and most dog owners are vigilant about complying with pooper scooper mandates, especially if they know their presence in the park is at stake.

Bottom line: research leases carefully. And hold your landlords to their contractual obligations.