Thread: New NYC housing rules may jam dog shelters

New NYC housing rules may jam dog shelters

Animal welfare advocates fear the revised New York City Housing Authority pet policy could lead to even more dogs ending up in shelters.
As of May 1, tenants who live in New York City Housing Authority buildings are barred from owning pit bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers and any dog that weights more than 25 pounds.
Public housing residents who already have dogs can keep them, but only if they weigh under 40 pounds — the previous weight limit.
the new regulations have confused many public housing residents, who, under the changes, are also required to register their dogs with the housing authority.
Dozens of people who have called the ASPCA for advice in recent weeks, unsure about whether they can keep their beloved dogs, the New York Daily News reported.
“There’s been a lot of misinformation out there,” said Debora Bresch, a lawyer in the ASPCA’s government relations department.
“One woman who has a lovely pit bull that weighs under 40 pounds said she was having trouble registering her dog,” said Bresch. “We had to get involved and speak with the manager.”
NYCHA spokesman Howard Marder said the managers were well-informed about which dogs are allowed and which are not.
“This is a wrongheaded policy that doesn’t get into the root problem,” said Jane Hoffman of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, which rescues animals from shelters. “You need to go after the reckless owners who don’t treat their dogs like family members.”
About 5% of the city’s population live in housing authority properties.
In the weeks leading up to the policy change, more than 170 dogs from New York City Animal Care and Control shelters were adopted out to NYCHA tenants. According to Bresch, who obtained the statistics, more than 100 of these dogs would no longer be allowed into those homes because of the new weight and breed restrictions.
“That’s a whole population of potential owners foreclosed to us,” said Hoffman. “Hundreds of dogs will be dying in shelters because of this policy.”
---------------------------------------
Original Source