Your Pets Are Residents, Too!

Our community is “pet friendly” meaning that we gladly welcome most canines and felines. Don’t get me wrong, we charge for this privilege, but being pet welcoming is rewarding regardless. For about two years I was absent as a full time manager here and when I returned I was greeted by Gus one morning. He was accompanied by his Humans, Joe and Carol. I noticed right away, he was very happy and grateful to stand by your feet and let you rub behind his ears. His tail would just wag and wag. Joe said Gus would stand there all day letting you pet him if you wanted.

As time moved on, I would be greeted by Gus every morning on his AM constitutional. He never seemed to be in a hurry and there was always time to sniff a leaf, a tree, or something interesting on the sidewalk. Joe and I laughed about how much Gus loved to slow down and smell the roses. Of course, like most Basset Hounds who did not move too fast, Gus was a tad overweight.

One day, I noticed Gus limping and he had a “pouch” like swelling on his hind leg. When it did not resolve itself quickly, Joe and Carol took him to the Vet for an examination. The Vet put him on antibiotics; however, the infection never really went away. There were days when Gus would limp and days when he really wasn’t up to long walks. But then there were still days he would run, happily chasing a rabbit and it didn’t seem to affect him.

Inevitably though, there were more bad, pain filled days than healthier, good ones. Joe and Carol made the difficult decision to release Gus from his misery and arrangements were made. One Saturday morning, I received an email from Carol that Gus was gone and to please understand their request to not be charged Pet Rent. Tears immediately filled my eyes and I was momentarily overcome. Quickly I sent my condolences via email and began a journey down Memory Lane, not just of Gus, but also of my beloved Chow mix, Viann, whom I lost on a winter morning during a blizzard just the December prior.

Time moves on though. It was nice to be greeted by other Residents’ dogs: Jack, a black lab; Lucy, a mix breed Dalmatian/Lab; Mya, a small, energetic Service Dog; Maggie, the Collie and my next door neighbor, Sam, a Maltese. And then, a few weeks ago there was a new little Beagle in the mix named Otis, Joe and Carol’s newly adopted Rescue. I guess a new journey begins and I am glad that we are Pet Friendly!