Things You Can Do With a Pit Bull . . .

. . . Take him to the ATM and see how happy he is to watch you get money.


"Now we go buy biscuits, yes?"

I Don't Mean to Complain, But Here I Go . . .

As I recently posted, me, the dogs, and the guy are planning a big move--I got a job in Orlando, and I start work on May 24. Big, exciting news!

What's not so exciting is that I cannot for the life of me find a place to live that'll take our dogs. Well, to be more specific, they won't take pit bulls. Now, I know it's not easy to find a place that'll rent to someone who owns a pit bull anywhere in America right now--it's one of those things you really need to think about before you bring one into your life. I bought my house in 2005 so I wouldn't have to worry about looking for places to live with my dogs. I had no illusions about this being easy. But I'm beginning to think that, compared to Orlando, Baltimore is a straight-up pit bull friendly down.

Eventually, I'd like to buy in Orlando, but I can't really buy a home until I can sell the house I own up here. So a few weeks ago, I started contacting realtors and asked them if they'd help me look for a pit bull friendly rental house--a few took pity on us and started calling their pet-friendly rental houses to inquire about breed restrictions. I wasn't too surprised to hear that they weren't having any luck because insurance regulations in Florida consider pit bulls to be an "aggressive" breed.

So I told the realtors that, to make the "pit bull" thing slighly less frightening for a potential landlord that I'd voluntarily supply liability insurance to cover the dogs myself. One or two homeowners said they'd consider it, and I started calling around to find a company that'll write a renter's policy with liability for dogs. I figured I'd start with State Farm, which for years has been the one company everyone with a pit bull could always rely on to get a pit bull-friendly policy. I called an agent and was shocked to hear that, as of 2010, State Farm is no longer writing business in Florida and is cancelling many of its existing policies. Wow. I then got on the phone with the company that carries my no-breed-restriction homeowners policy, Farmer's Insurance. Once again, I was told that Farmer's will not write in Florida. Neither, it turns out, will Nationwide. Or Kemper's. Or Allstate. Pretty much no one writes in Florida anymore, except for a handful of smaller companies--none of which will cover a pit bull. You can get a policy that'll cover you and specifically exclude dog liability, but no policy will actually cover your dog if it's one of those alleged "aggressive" breeds.



I'm not naive about the pit bull "problem," or the challenges that come with pit bull ownership, but I must say, I was shocked to find that the only way I can get my dogs covered in the state of Florida is to purchase an exotic and aggressive animal policy. Which to me is insulting, because purchasing such a policy implies that I believe my dogs to be aggressive. My CGC-certified, ATTS temperament tested, obedience-trained dogs. I guess if I have to do it, that's what I'll have to do. But come on, now. More people drown each year than are killed by pit bulls. Yet insurance companies still cover homes with swimming pools and bathtubs.

I'm also a bit surprised that Florida folks haven't made more noise about this around the pit bull "community," such as it is. The first I heard that you, quite literally, can't get a regular homeowners or renters policy in Florida if you own a pit bull was when I started looking for one.

But maybe I'm wrong and there's a Floridian out there who knows of a company that'll cover us. If so, leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

While you're at it, if you know of any single-family homes for rent with a fenced-in yard in Orlando, leave a commment about that too! I'm starting to feel a bit worried about our prospects.

News: Me, the Guy, and the Dogs Moving to Orlando

So it's been rather quiet around here lately, and one (big) reason for that is that me and the boys (the dogs and the human) are leaving Baltimore and moving to Orlando, Fl. A new job opened up in my company, I applied for it, and I got it--both exciting and rather terrifying at the same time. The terrifying part is less about the job change and more about moving my dogs--particularly Button and Doc, both of whom look like what they are--to a new city.

I've been desperately searching for a place for us to live, and in the short term, I figured we'd try to rent a house while we learn more about the city. But who'd have thunk it: It's insanely difficult to find a rental that'll take a pit bull. (In case it's not clear, I'm being facetious here--I do know the struggle pit bull people have finding places to live that will take their dogs.)

We own our home here in Baltimore, and one of the main reasons I purchased this house was to have a safe place that me and whatever dog living with me could call home. It's been a great place to call home for the past five years, but obviously I can't commute to Orlando. So we've got to leave it behind . . . now if only I could find a place that will have the boys.

If worse comes to worse, I'll leave them up here in Baltimore with Rob for the summer while I live in a short-term efficiency and look for a house we can buy. But that's my last-ditch option. Please think good thoughts for us, because I really don't want to live the whole summer without any of my boys.

Happy Easter?

So you know how they say that there's a direct link between animal abuse and domestic violence or other violent crimes against humans? And that if you look into the pasts of abusers and violent individuals you will often find that those people abused animals before they eventually made their way to human victims? Well here's (another) case that shows a direct connection between violence against animals and people.

On Easter Sunday in Baltimore, animal control officers got a call about a pit bull puppy who had been tied to a pole by some kids who were beating her with rocks and bricks. A passerby tried to intervene, and the kids turned on him, throwing rocks at him as well. The poor dog--who by all accounts is a very sweet dog who doesn't seem to harbor a grudge against people even though she was so brutally beaten--was brought to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter where she's being treated for her injuries. In the meantime, the shelter says there's a $6,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the kids who did this to her. Even if you don't care a lick about what they did to the dog, they ought to face charges for assaulting the person who tried to get them to stop beating her. Obviously, they have no respect for human pain and suffering if they were willing to turn violently on a person who wanted to help the dog. Scary.

By the way, I've also been meaning to point out this story from Baltimore--a youth leader killed, according to the Baltimore Sun, because someone was allegedly afraid of his pit bull. Guy was walking his dog, someone said something to him, the guy replied that the dog was friendly. So the offended passerby pulled out his gun and shot the guy walking the dog.

Just a couple of sad reminders that, while pit bulls have the bad rap, people once again prove to be far more frightening and violent.

Maryland Parks Service Relaxes Pet Policies

Just found out about this on another web site--apparently the Maryland Parks Service is relaxing its policies on pets. Used to be that pets weren't allowed in many of the "developed" areas of the state's parks (parking areas, picnic areas, pavilions). It was a trails-only proposition.

Late last year the parks service proposed a series of changes that would open up some of those previously off-limits spots to pets--including a bunch of spots in the state park closest to where I live, Patapsco Valley State Park.

I can't find a link anywhere on the Maryland Department of Natural Resources' web site that shows the final policy, but here's a link to the proposed changes that compares the old rules to the new ones. Hopefully they'll update the site soon.