Pets, especially dogs, should be banned from apartment buildings.

In downtown White Plains pretty much every apartment building is "pet friendly", which means that humans cohabitate with animals.

Yuck.

1. It's unsanitary. Dogs are taken out to piss and shit three times a day. Each time a plastic bag is used to capture the shit and dispose of it. That's about 1,000 plastic bags per year per dog. How does that impact the environment? Suppose we managed human waste that way? If a human did what the dog does, the human would get a summons and eventually be arrested. What the heck?

2. It's dangerous. Dogs can become aggressive in apartment buildings, especially in or entering an elevator. Dog owners are oblivious. They congregate at the entrance to buildings and in the lobby. Dogs are not restricted to certain elevators. There are no rules about letting people complete their elevator ride without dogs entering.

Dog owners react to someone being apprehensive about the proximity of their dog with: oh, my dog is friendly. Yeah, to you, its source of food and shelter. The rest of us are a threat and/or a meal.

"Curb your dog" is a long lost concept for dog owners. Almost universally, they walk their dog in the middle of the sidewalk, path, etc. And often on one of those expandable leashes so that the owner has minimal, if any, control.

I recently read a thread on Reddit about this and was surprised that many people think as I do that dogs should be banned from apartment buildings:

Dogs should not be allowed to live in ANY apartment

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogfree/comments/158y8aq/dogs_should_not_be_allowed_to_live_in_any/

Oct. 3 2024 I sent that to commoncouncil@whiteplainsny.gov

No reply. The Common Council is and has always been dominated by people who live in houses in the suburbs of White Plains. They are elected at large, not by geographic area. That helps perpetuate their power. Downtown exists for their amusement and to subsidize the property tax.

A couple of weeks ago I sent email to White Plains Public Safety (wppublicsafety@whiteplainsny.gov) about a dog safety issue in my rental building but I have not received a reply.

Thousands of new downtown apartments have been created in recent years and thousands more are being created now. None have even common sense restrictions on dogs. "Pet friendly" makes money for the developers. White Plains Common Council wants the extra sales and property tax generated.

Turnure Park between Lake Street and Main Street is the only real downtown park. It just erected a new sign at the Lake Street entrance reiterating the rules, which include no smoking and no dogs. No dogs? Has anyone ever seen that enforced?

I don't expect the building owners or government to do anything but maybe you dog owners can reevaluate your attitudes and be more considerate.

White Plains: dog city? Do they have more rights than people? Sunday, October 13, 2024