http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/02/13/nb-seniors-forced-to-give-up-their-pets

The New Brunswick government is coming under fire for telling seniors in subsidized housing they need to get rid of their pets, or get out.

The social development department recently sent notice to seniors living in the Lions Tower residence in Moncton that they need to give up their pets or face eviction.

The province was acting on a recent complaint that tenants in the home were violating a provincial ban on pets in subsidized housing, a rule the opposition calls "cruel and unfair policy."

NDP Leader Dominic Cardy has written Social Development Minister Sue Stultz asking her to reverse the order and either scrap the no-pets rule or enact legislation like Ontario's that prevents people from being evicted for having pets.

"There is significant research linking pet ownership and reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other disorders that often disproportionately afflict seniors and those living in assisted housing," Cardy wrote.

Numerous studies have shown interaction with animals decreases seniors' depression, helps them to live longer, decreases their risk of heart disease and lowers their blood pressure.

"One resident of the Lions' Tower residence, Ms. Agnes Mitchell, was denied permission to keep the pet cat she had owned and kept in the building without incident for four years despite providing a doctor's letter to N.B. Housing, stating the cat was beneficial to the resident's health," Cardy wrote.

QMI Agency has contacted the social development department for comment


What do you think? Should they be able to keep their pets ?

 

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Stupid

 

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Depends what pets are involved. Cats hurt no one and rules against them are stupid in the extreme.


Yappy dogs are a blight on communal living and deserve to be outlawed. But it is hard because if you let people have the dog in the first place it becomes a lot harder to get them to do soemthing with it if it turns out to be a nuisance.

Yes they should. Period.

 

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Why would they want the seniors to live longer? It is in everyone's best interest if they don't have pets and die sooner!

 

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Yappy dogs make up like 80% of the senior citizen pet population, though. If the dogs are a nuisance, deal with the individual owners. Don't punish some other Pekingese owner who actually took the time to train their pet to STFU.

 

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I think you answered your own question on why organizations like to have general policies. Yappy dogs make up a large % of pets, but if you try to deal with them individually that makes things personal and opens the door to all sorts of antagonism. Not to mention ends up costing a ton of money. And once the pet is actually in the home it becomes a lot harder to kick them out. As they're seeing now.


I can see both sides of the issue here (at least when it comes to dogs and maybe birds - banning cats makes no sense at all).

Of course they should be allowed to keep their pets. It's the housing subsidy they shouldn't get to keep.

 

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People are 5 times more likely to be allergic to cats than dogs. If you live in an apartment and there are cats in the building you will be affected.

 

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I'm not sure I understand. You're saying having a cat in one unit in an apartment building is going to cause people allergic to cats in other units to have allergic reactions? Even if the cats never enter any common areas?