For this episode of the Individual Animal, we spoke with Dr. Kelsea Brown from the National Canine Research Council. Kelsea recently relocated to Chicago and what she encountered while looking for housing surprised us.
First, she had some rules:
Unless a place specifically said “no pets,” she applied, even if it said there were breed restrictions. She had her facts about canine science and behavior ready. She emphasized that she was a responsible dog owner and that she would continue to take responsibility for her pets.
Kelsea has two dogs and two cats, and her many people perceive her dogs to be “pit bull” dogs. But Kelsea and her husband have never had their dogs’ DNA tested. They just consider them dogs. They didn’t consider breed restrictions because they don’t know their dogs’ heritage and they don’t need to know that to know that they are great pets.
We can’t dismiss the fact that Kelsea’s experience comes from a place of privilege and we get into more of that in the podcast episode.
But there is something to be said for the action plan she had and the approach to working with others that she took - in fact, that last part is key. Kelsea said multiple times that she approached the process with the assumption that people are reasonable, so that if she reasonably explained the facts and explained that she was a responsible dog owner that her chances of getting an apartment she liked were pretty good.
Listen to the episode to find out how it all turned out. And tune in next week where we dig deeper into this issue with Shannon Glenn from My Pit Bull Is Family.
