High Rise Cat

As pets become more common place in high rise buildings will they adapt to living above the ground?  I guess they’ll just have to. 

Like this cat … that clearly feels comfortable with heights and narrow ledges.

I suppose he has plenty of spare lives and the view is to die for.

Francesco …

Tiger & Alligator in an Apartment…

I’ve posted before about the rules for animals in strata schemes (see Are they In or Out ??? Pets in Strata) and about Fantik , the Llama, in the Moscow apartment (see What sound does a Llama make (in an apartment) ?).

But from the land of all things crazy come even more bizarre strata pets.

In Harlem, New York, Police responded to a sequence of bizarre reports that eventually had them capturing a 450 pound (200 plus kilogram) Bengal Tiger that was living in an apartment.  And, it was sharing the place with a 3 foot alligator.

The story goes something like this ...

Police received a call about a dog bite at a 19 storey apartment and found  Antoine Yates in the lobby with a serious injuries to his right leg and arm.  He told them it was caused by a pit bull terrier.  Yates was taken to hospital for treatment and kept overnight.  The next day Police received an anonymous report about a ‘large wild animal being kept somewhere in New York’ and that it ‘was biting people’.  A day later another anonymous call led the Police to Yates’ apartment.

When they arrived there Yates was nowhere to be found and they were told he was keeping a tiger in his apartment by a fourth-floor resident who complained that urine had seeped through her ceiling from Yates' apartment.

Still trying to determine what they were dealing with, police cut a hole in Yates' door and saw the large tiger pass by the open hole.  Apparently the orange tiger looked well-fed and in ‘great shape’ and was seen lying by the window, and contentedly licking its paws.

Police decided to rappel from above and shoot a tranquilizer dart from outside to sedate the tiger.  Officer Martin Duffy got the job, lowering himself from a seventh-floor apartment, armed with a tranquilizer gun and an M-4 rifle. Once at the window, he tapped on it with his shoe to get the tiger's attention and the tiger lunged.

When Police entered the apartment they found the animal unconscious atop a pile of furniture and an alligator was nearby. Both animals were taken to an animal shelter.

Yates was charged with reckless endangerment and Police suspect Yates got the tiger when it was a cub and had lived with it for as long as two years.

There’s a funny YouTube video too.

As they say, only in New York … or at least I hope so!

Francesco … 

Are they In or Out ??? Pets in Strata

One topic that has occupied a lot of strata talk over the years has been the question of pets in strata schemes.

According to the statistics published by the Consumer Trader & Tennancy Tribunal in NSW (which are the most comprehensive available) disputes about pets comprise 14% of all disputes they handle.  And, all of us who work in strata have many stories and anecdotes (good and bad) about animals in schemes.

Modern living and lifestyles mean that attitudes are changing and pets are living in apartments more than ever before.

Last week the SMH Domain featured pets in Kate Denehey’s article Tenants Forced to Give Up Pets.

So, what’s the general position about pets in strata ?

• In almost all states of Australia the default position is that pets are not permitted in strata schemes without approval
• And in most states anyone can apply for approval to keep a pet and the decision about it is reviewable on merit bases (in other words was it reasonable or not to give or refuse permission)
• Some states (like NSW) allow optional positions on strata registration that allow some pets (small cat or dog, birds and fish) without permission
• And some states (like Victoria) allow pets but with a rider that the strata scheme can require removal if the pet becomes a problem

When a dispute about keeping a pet arises the most common and relevant matters include –

• the kind of pet involved
• the size, nature and configuration of the apartment
• any history (good or bad) involving the pet or owner
• whether other pets are (or are not) in the strata scheme (whether permitted or not)
• the conditions proposed for the pet

So, a Chihuaha in a whole floor penthouse with it’s own lift entrance is more likely to get approved than a Great Dane in a ground floor studio.

There’s a lot more information about pets in apartments around including –a brochure prepared by NSW Young Lawyers called Keeping Pets in Strata Schemes which you can find on the Resources & Links page of my webpage francescoandreone.com or here.

Interestingly, when you review NSW reported dispute decisions about keeping pets the pets win (and stay) more often than not.

Power to the pets !!!

Francesco …