The Difficulties of Renting with a Large Dog Owning a dog these days is a great pleasure for many people. Having a dog is a way to have a daily companion as someone to walk, hike, and run with, to pet, to play ball with and to lift you up when you're feeling down by offering a gracious lick to the face when you least expect it. Some pet owners prefer small lap dogs which are often little barkers that become annoying. Some owners, like myself, prefer large dogs that we can take on mountain bike rides, trips to the lake to swim, or bird hunting. However, owning a pet is a privilege, but finding a house where you and your dog can live together is a whole different ball game. Many people today cannot buy a house for a variety of reasons and thus, have no other choice but to rent for the time being until they can buy home. When you become a renter with a large dog, you have just entered a market that barely exists anymore today unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for pet fees, deposits, and for many rental homes, 'pet rent' on top of your already existing rental payment. I am against landlords charging large pet fees and deposits and especially against weight limit restrictions that require many dogs to be under 25lbs. Many landlords charge renters to have a dog usually because they may have been burned in the past by previous dog owners were the dog in one way or another destroyed their property during the time the renter lived there. Large dogs with muddy feet can track on the carpet, may not be potty trained yet, and leave the a certain smell in the carpet which is one reason they charge a cleaning fee to remove these stains and smells. Dogs that are not trained properly will often times dig in the yard causing the landscaping issues, not to mention when renters don't clean up after their dog, the yard is so soiled that no one wants to walk in it, thus, tacking on another fee. Then there is another fee that landlords call 'pet rent', which usually ranges from ten dollars to fifty dollars per month on top of the current rental rate. What is pet rent? It is another way for a landlord to make an extra buck and they can get away with it because this pet rent is in place to clean up or fix any damages the dog may cause that the landlord has to fix themselves. Large dog owners find it almost impossible to even find a place to live with their dogs. Many people get attached to their dog as a family member and find that putting them up for adoption is not an option. You wouldn't get put your child up for adoption if you couldn't find a place to live that didn't allow children would you? Kids can be just as damaging as pets. They makes messes on the floor with food, but don't eat it up, their soiled diaper may leak and get on the carpet, they color on the walls with crayons or markers. Babies scream and cry more than most dogs bark in the back yard that I have raised. I can understand a deposit when moving into a place, this takes care of any minor damages caused, but to add extra 'pet rent', pet deposits, and to not allow dogs over a certain weight limit is absurd. Dogs all poop the same way so why a weight limit in rental houses? From my experience, little dogs are more prone to be yappy and annoying than larger dogs and can cause equal amounts of damage to the house if given the opportunity. It is all in how the dog is raised and disciplined. I find it rediculous that many landlords and apartment complexes charge so many fees to have a pet there. To my knowledge and research, there are about four apartment complexes in Corvallis that allow dogs over 25lbs For example, Spring Creek Apartments does not have a weight restriction which is a big plus for large dog owners. Their smallest unit, a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, cost $740 a month. However, they charge a $400 refundable deposit plus an additional $15 per month for what they call 'pet rent' . Why do they find it necessary to charge an extra rent payment for a dog? $15 a month for a 1 year lease comes out to $180, plus $400 up front, which totals $580 additional per year, thats almost an extra months rent payment. I also made a phone call to Mountain view apartments in Corvallis and asked about their pet policy. I pretended to be looking for an apartment and asked what their pet policies were. I spoke with the receptionist who said they charge an additional $250 deposit and $10 per month for each pet on top of their already existing $745 rent for a comparable 2 bedroom. They allow only one dog up to 20lbs at adult weight, or two cats. I asked why they do not allow dogs over 20lbs and they simply replied with 'large dogs dont typically do very well in small apartments'. And there I get it again, charging fees to own a dog, and not even a large dog at that! And of course, on leashes at all times when outside of the apartment. So again, we're at $370 for a year to have a small dog in a tiny apartment with no yard. Since there are very few apartments that in the Corvallis area that do not charge about $750 per month plus any pet fees, the next option is to look for a house. Again, a dwindling market in a college town. You would be lucky to find a 2 bedroom house that is not under $900 a month, plus paying all utilities, and deposits on top of that. The only other option is to move outside of corvallis to find a cheaper place, thus, commuting to and from work or school. As large dog owners, my fiance and I are looking for a place to rent together before our wedding in July which has already proven to be just about as difficult as planning and paying for our own wedding. Having a yellow lab tipping the scale at just over 85lbs who is very well house trained and friendly to people and other animals is not an easy task. We search everyday on craigslist, newspapers, and by word of mouth for a small house that is affordable without pet rent and additional pet fees that make renting for a full time student and a full time office manager a difficult task to accomplish. We do not want to rent an apartment because many times, apartments are just slightly less than a rental house but are usually much smaller and have no yard and requires dogs on leash at all times outside of the apartment. So why do landlords feel the need to charge so much more for pet owners? Is that not why we pay rent, to have a dog there? If landlords feel it is necessary, why don't that charge 'kid rent' for people who have kids, they would make a fortune off someone with four kids at fifty bucks a month! I think that if landlords and apartment complexes feel it is necessary to charge pet rent and pet fees, why not nickel and dime everything else?