I'm Harboring an Illegal Pet



I first began blogging at Posterous. Since they are shutting down in April, I decided to move the few posts I had on that site to this blog. This was originally posted November 9, 2009.

 

I got a letter on my front door today from the apartment complex where I live. I was being accused of harboring an illegal pet, a dog! The letter said that the management/maintenance staff witnessed an unauthorized pet in my apartment.

Well, at first I was angry. How could they make such an accusation? I have two pets, neither of which is required to have the non-refundable pet deposit of $300 and monthly pet rent of $20. They are a guinea pig and a fish. Certainly neither of which could be mistaken for a dog. Then I looked at the sliding glass door to my balcony. There sat Bob Farley. He's a rather large stuffed dog that I bought to take with me when I had my stand at the Farmer's Market selling dog treats. I had to laugh a bit. My thought is that I had the blinds open on the window and a member of the staff saw him. I'm on the second floor, so they probably didn't have a very good look at him, let alone be able to tell that he wasn't breathing!

I intend on going to the leasing office tomorrow morning and bringing Bob Farley with me. I'll introduce him to the staff and let them see that he does not fall under the pet deposit/rent requirements of my lease. I'm sure that I will then have a nice laugh about the entire situation.

Another positive thought is this: If the staff of the apartment complex was fooled into thinking that this large stuffed toy was real, I can only hope that any potential burglar will think the same. Crime prevention through environmental design!