[Nadin Maison]

Hi everyone, My friend has three Pitties, and she bought a townhome with a neighbor association. The three dogs are all VERY nice but two of them got out for seconds/minutes and the paranoid man across the street reported them so the association said she had to get rid of the two dogs who were out. She refused to give her dogs away so she LEFT the home she owns and rented a house with some property. After they moved in the owner informed her they were moving their cows into a field right next to the house, and she was afraid the dogs would attack the cows. My friend assured her the dogs were not vicious and only took the dogs outside on a leash. Her son had friends over and one left the door open. The older two dogs got out and went into the field, the cows stampeded, the dogs bit the cows on the ears. Animal control took the dogs but they say they are not dangerous and my friend can take her dogs home. Except the land lord wont let them be there, and they cannot be around livestock and have to have them in a fenced yard with a 12x6x12 covered, anchored in concrete pen before animal control will release them. She is visiting them every day but needs to find someplace cheap for them to stay while she finds somewhere else to live. She is letting her house go back to the bank, all she cares about is having her dogs. Does anyone have any ideas? She is an amazing person and my heart is breaking for her family.

[Heliosprime]

By allowing her current home to go into foreclosure, your friend will seriously (and negatively) impact her credit rating; in turn, this will effect her ability to rent/lease a new home.

Would it not make more sense to abide with the enclosure requirements stipulated to by AC? Did I follow your post correctly that the landlord might consider allowing her/the dogs back, if she adheres to the confinement stipulation?

Further, the dogs have now been at large twice, each time creating serious issues, and that's something that our friend needs to address. Dogs should never be loose; accidents do happen, but both these sound like they could have been prevented.

Other than returning to the leased house along with constructing the pen, she could kennel the dogs at a private kennel, until she finds a new home.

[erroxiainsona]

What county in Oregon did this happen in?

[Nadin Maison]

It happened in East Multnomah County. No, the land lord wont let her take her dogs home, it was his sisters cows. She knows the risk of letting her home forclose, but she cant make her house payment and pay rent. She is a single mom and her ex husband doesn't pay child support. Yes she would agree that the dogs shouldn't have gotten loose, but when you also have kids that presents a problem. She rented that house because it had property and no close neighbors, she was told about the cows, 50 feet from the front door after she moved in. Multnomah Co. gave the " cannot be around livestock and in a fenced yard with a 12x6x12 covered kennel anchored in concrete." Not the land lord. The dogs were DEFINATELY being naughty when they ran out, but they just found themselves in the wrong place. the lady at the Multnomah Co Animal Shelter says they are NOT dangerous dogs.

[erroxiainsona]

I work with MCAS what they are requiring does not sound unreasonable.

The problem now for your friend is finding a place that will allow her to rent with three APBT's that are now deemed PPD (Possibly Dangerous Dogs) and have confinement restrictions.

Not to say it cannot be done, but your friend certainly has an uphill struggle ahead of her.

[erroxiainsona]

To clarify, even though someone at MCAS said they are not dangerous dogs, they still have to hold the PPD dog label to be allowed within the county and community.

[Heliosprime]

Can she rent out her townhouse quickly enough and at high enough rent to cover the mortgage?

If not, I'd recommend going all out to attempt to rent a suitable home before the foreclosure is embedded on her credit report.

The dogs would have to be borded at a kennel in the meantime, and I realize that this is another expense.

Another thought - is there any way she can mend fences with the homeowners' assoication and get back in there?

[Nadin Maison]

She tried to talk to the homeowners association, they just kept saying that the dogs had to be gone in 30 days. She went to a lawyer and he said it was in the contract/bylaws and there is nothing she can do. She looked into renting it out or doing a short sale on it, but with the Mortgage and the INCREDIBLY high association fees, no one will rent it. It also needs new carpet to be rented out and she simply doesn't have the funds. I don't know how she will board the dogs, they looked into it but it is $600 dollars a month for both of them.

[Heliosprime]

I can only suggest that your friend start pounding the pavement now, in hopes of finding a new home, and I mean pound the pavement, 24/7. I would think though that the PDD designation is not going to make it easier.

Are there any friends or family that can safely accommodate her and/or the dogs in the interim?

[spoddersedpn]

Welcome to the forum. What about you? Can't you take the dogs until your friend finds a place?

If she does find another place, please make sure she understands that she needs to supervise her dogs to make sure they do not get loose. And she needs to have a discussion with her children about this too.

[Nadin Maison]

I offered to take one until she could find someplace to live, but my yard isn't fenced so I don't meet the specs. I have Powell Butte Nature park bordering my yard and horses one house down from me.

[ceagstuntee]

What about a decent chain setup? The dogs cant get free by opened door's on a chain. Sounds like your friend has alot to learn, and might consider handing these dogs over to someone with more experience. Even if your yard was fenced in you would still need a proper chains setup. I do feel for your friend, but this is what happen's when people are not careful/responsible with their dog's. All this could have been prevented by following a few simple rules.

[xtc2d6u8]

I'm sorry to sound rude, but it's not the landlord's fault or the cows fault or animal control's fault the dogs got taken away, the blame lies on your friend and her family. It's one thing if the dogs get loose once by accident but when it happens a second time and they attack the neighbor's livestock, then it's just irresponsible behavior. It sounds like your friend has a lot going on and might not be in the position right now to own a high energy breed like pit bulls. My sister is also a single parent so I know firsthand how difficult and stressful that is and I sympathize with your friend's predicament. The landlord probably doesn't want a concrete kennel built on his property and that might have something to do with why he won't allow the dogs back. However I have to agree with texas dogger, that the dogs might be better off with an owner who has more experience and time.

[Paybeskf]

It happened in East Multnomah County. No, the land lord wont let her take her dogs home, it was his sisters cows. She knows the risk of letting her home forclose, but she cant make her house payment and pay rent. She is a single mom and her ex husband doesn't pay child support. Yes she would agree that the dogs shouldn't have gotten loose, but when you also have kids that presents a problem. She rented that house because it had property and no close neighbors, she was told about the cows, 50 feet from the front door after she moved in. Multnomah Co. gave the " cannot be around livestock and in a fenced yard with a 12x6x12 covered kennel anchored in concrete." Not the land lord. The dogs were DEFINATELY being naughty when they ran out, but they just found themselves in the wrong place. the lady at the Multnomah Co Animal Shelter says they are NOT dangerous dogs.

Lots of people have kids and manage to be responsible dog owners. She should try to get the dogs into a breed specific rescue, or re home them somewhere, IMO.

[osteoftex]

Hello and welcome! Wow, it sounds like your friend does have a hard road ahead. I think the chain set up sounds like it would be a good idea.... I really don't know what to suggest, she's in a real tough situation here, I hope all works out for the best for your friend. Good luck!

[Txaizdxx]

She should move back into the townhome for the time being, even with the 30 day rule, she still would need to be formally evicted/locked out by the sheriff, and those orders take time.

At least she will have a place to stay for about a month, if not more.

And she needs to hop on craigslist.org and start, like mad, to find a new place to rent. Are all the dogs fixed? Landlords like altered dogs, I have found. And if she doesn't already, she needs a renter's policy with liability coverage for the dogs.

[hablyShappY]

She could possibly search for someone willing to foster her dogs? As long as they have some experience with the breed. When I had rescued a dane, My home I was renting wouldn't allow me to keep him in my home after he reached 45lbs and I went on Craigslist and a few other websites and came in contact with an AWESOME home who out of the kindness of her heart was more then willing to foster until he found his forever home. On top of it which was really nice, all I had to worry about is buying dog food nothing else she never charged a cent more which was so kind. There are nice people out there who can help you just have to look, screen and find them. This is just a thought that could help.

[SHaEFU0i]

First, I want to say that I completely understand your friends determination to keep her dogs. However, if she really wants to keep those dogs this badly then she's got to buck up and do what she has to do to keep the dogs from getting into trouble. Period. If she cannot do what it takes to secure them then she needs to find a different situation for them.
I'm also a firm believer in never buying a home that has an HOA. You are automatically begging for trouble. I absolutely refuse to own or rent a home with an HOA. Been there, done that and it was two years of hell.

Renting is very difficult when you have any dogs. I am currently living in a house that will eventually be torn down to make way for several million dollar homes. My husband and I turned over every rock and asked everyone we knew to find a place when we had to move back in April. It took a friend of a friend that owed them a favor to come up with this dump. Its very yucky and if anything goes wrong or breaks we have to fix it because the landlord won't. But, we have our dogs and to us that is more important.
I agree that your friend could move back to townhome for a short period of time. I think she's making a mistake to let it go to foreclosure but sometimes you get backed into a corner and don't have options. I understand that. She will have the 30 days the HOA allowed and then she will most likely be served with an order to get rid of the dogs within a certain amount of time, usually a day or two. If she doesn't then they can push the issue further and what they can or cannot do would depend on the laws in your area and whatever law enforcement is/isn't willing to do.
However, the forclosure takes precedence over any of this. Your friend can inhabit the house up to the point that the home is actually sold at auction. Once that happens you can have anywhere from a couple of weeks to 60 days to move out depending on how fast they file for the eviction order and how fast the local court system can issue it. Once you get the eviction order you have 24 hours to move out from the time the order was posted.
Your friend does not want to let it go that far though because an eviction process will also prevent her from being able to rent.
These days, landlords are pretty rutheless and evil and they will get you coming or going. Never, never, never trust one further than you can throw them. You have to be smart and be one step ahead of them or your screwed.
Bottom line though, she's got to be able to secure those dogs if she keeps them. I wish you luck with helping her. Get to digging and she needs to dig and hopefully you can come up with a place where she can have them.

[Txaizdxx]

... Once you get the eviction order you have 24 hours to move out from the time the order was posted.
....

This may or not be true, and the op needs to check the laws in her area. In CA, you have 10 days to file a response with the court after the eviction papers are served. If you do not file a response, the plaintiff then can request the sheriff's lockout and that is generally done about 3-5 days after, and only after a notice is posted by the sheriff on the door. The sheriff's notice then gives 24-72 hours to move out.

[Nadin Maison]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. She is determined to succeed in keeping her dogs, so I think she will find a way God willing. She absolutely knows that the dogs must never get out, the chain set up is a really good idea. I don't have a fenced yard, I take my boy out to potty on a retractable leash in the back yard. We go outside through the garage so if he ever tried to get out of the door, the big garage door is closed. My car is parked in the garage so if I am running my daughter somewhere and he comes along for the ride without a leash he is in the car before I open the door. It has worked really well for us.

Capriece