In fact, 1,800 pets had been surrendered to Pet Alliance of
Owners Find Truly Pet-Friendly Apartments.
Helping Dog Story and by Heather Schulman
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates approximately 6.5 million companion animals are surrendered to U.S. animal shelters annually. The number one reason for owner-surrenders is moving and “can’t take my dog with me.” The lack of affordable, pet-friendly housing is part of the equation.
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando’s Pet Apartment Registry. Go to
PetAllianceOrlando.com and click on Community Involvement. Scroll down to find the Pet Apartment Registry link.
Stephen Bardy and Jan.
Greater Orlando due to the lack of appropriate pet-friendly housing. In an effort to keep Orlando’s large population of renters
from having to surrender their pets, Bardy and his team developed the Orlando Pet Apartment Registry which will ultimately list all of the apartments that allow all sizes and breeds of dogs. To be on the list, apartments must accept all sizes and breeds of dogs, including the most commonly owner-surren- dered to shelters: Rottweilers, Huskies, Labradors, Dalmatians, German Shepherds and Terrier mixes. Before creating the list, the team’s first order of business was
to develop statistical data that would help encourage apartment complexes to get on board. “I had to remember that ultimately we are helping their
bottom line. For a profit-driven business, it’s not about the animals like it is for us” said Stephen. The shelter worked with The Balmoral Group, who prepared a cost/benefit analysis of pet-friendly housing for the Orlando area. The results of the analysis proved that the benefits of offering more pet-friendly housing outweighed the costs. The benefits included increased rent income and tenant pools, longer renter retention, decreased vacancy times and decreased costs of advertising vacant units. As the team began contacting apartments in the area, many
of their contacts responded that their apartment complexes were already “pet friendly.” “Many apartments felt they were already pet friendly
because they allowed small breeds” said Stephen. The shelter team working on the housing program has since stopped using pet friendly. Now, the criteria for an apartment complex to be included on the Orlando Pet Apartment Registry is to have no breed or size restrictions. In 2017, Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando launched a page
on their website that featured the first of 14 apartment com- plexes that agreed not to discriminate on dogs based on size or breed. Two years later, the registry has a listing of 21 apartment complexes participating in the program. The goal is to have 100-plus apartment complexes throughout Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties on board within the next 12 months. Since launching the registry online, Bardy has been
contacted by rescues and shelters from all over the country seeking advice on how to start a similar program. He is currently consulting with volunteer members of St. Pete PAWS, the City of St. Petersburg’s pet-friendly business initiative. As a result of the work and accomplishments, to date, the City of St. Petersburg was awarded $30,000 by Mars Petcare program’s Better Cities For Pets during the June U.S. Conference of Mayors. Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando has dropped to 13%, down
When Stephen Bardy stepped into the Executive Director
role with Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando in 2016, his goal was not to build a bigger shelter for the Orlando area. His number one goal was to reduce the number of animals who end up at the shelter. Bardy quickly noticed the main reason people were surrendering their pets was because their pets were not accepted where they lived. The big problem was dogs — primarily larger dogs.
18 THE NEW BARKER
from 20%, of people citing housing/landlord as reason for owner-surrender. Bardy continues pushing the program. “I have been blessed to have shared my life with dogs that
were once living in shelters,” said Stephen. “I am excited to be part of this community’s long-standing animal welfare history. Together we can continue the amazing pet services and strengthen our community partnerships so that we can end pet homelessness.”
U
www.TheNewBarker.com
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