Hypocrisy

There was an interesting advertisement posted on a lamppost in La Crescenta last week. It was a rental ad for a nice clean smoke-free and pet-free apartment. That’s right, not pest-free, but pet-free. And if you think it’s a typo, think again. Perhaps not every landlord puts the pets so blatantly on the same list with other nuisances, but deep down almost all landlords feel the same way. Just browse the Internet rental ads: “sorry, no pets”, “no pets allowed”, “no pets”, “cats only with deposit” adorn the bottom of virtually every ad. One in a hundred might say “small dog with deposit”, and in that case you can be sure you will be shedding additional 200-300 dollars a month for the exact same apartment!

So, on one hand, America is crazy about pets, they are adored and cherished and often spoiled worse that any kids, there are numerous TV shows and books and magazines and stores and what-nots dedicated to “your cuddly friends”, on the other – unless you own a home, your chances of being allowed to own a pet are close to null. On one hand, doctors agree and psychologists argue that people who own pets are healthier and live longer, less stressful lives. On the other – well, you got it.

I think it’s hypocrisy. I think I should be allowed to keep not just one dog of any size, but as many as I like – as long as I am prepared to bear the financial and legal consequences, if any. After all, if we followed the same logic in allowing people to drive, half of those sharing the roads with you should have been banned from driving. People are allowed to handle a one-ton murder weapon on four wheels as long as they are insured and can pay for whatever damages they incur. They can be a nuisance on the road, terror on the freeway, they smash your bumpers and dent your doors and occasionally drink and drive, but no one takes their license away unless they kill someone or get repeatedly caught when drunk.

Why then can’t I have a dog? What terrible things can one canine, however large, possibly do? Bark? Shed? Stink? I got news for you – if I had a dog, I would train it, so that it would not bark unnecessarily and would not bite people, not even the mailman. And if it ate the toxic carpet usually found in standard rental units – hey, keep a deposit and replace it!

I would love to know by what logic this is not happening?