Posted by ShelliR on July 31, 2002, at 21:21:37
In reply to boooo fed up bluezzz » Gabbi, posted by Ctrlaltndel : ( on July 31, 2002, at 17:22:30
I totally agree about the cat. Animals bond with us in a way that is both comforting and nourishing.Years ago, I was about to lose my apartment because my "illegal" cats, were found by maintenance for the third time. (managament wouldn't buy any more that they were "visiting" cats.) I had hidden them for over four years before I got caught and got an eviction notice.
The most astounding thing happened. I called the department of tenant rights or something, the one who regulates apartments for my county. I asked them if there was any thing I could do, told them about my situation, including living on social security (disabilitiy).
First they told me that there were dozens of people fighting rental evictions and not enough staff; anyway, it didn't even look good for me .
But a day or so later I get this call from a government attorney. He thought my case was really interesting and wanted to present the cats as being needed for my disability under the same statute as blind people with seeing eye dogs, i.e., it would add to my disability (depression) to live without the cats.
Because the rental company owned tons of rental buildings in the city in which I live, they didn't want to take a chance in court and they settled. It was pretty amazing. Part of the deal was that it couldn't be discussed. That is sad, because it was a precedent case and might have opened the door for lots of people to own pets in apartment buildings (after all, look at all the people in therapy and/or medication for depression.)
In another way it was lucky for me. If we actually had to go to court, the local newspaper might headline "disabilied tenant, Shelli R. won the right......" And since I had just started a photography business, I wasn't thrilled about announcing my disability to the world.
Now to get back to you. I wouldn't bet again on a landmark case, but maybe you could hide your cat (if she is indoor), then hope not to be caught, or give them a extra deposit if she is found. This suggestion is only if desperate, but you could keep it in mind.
Shelli
I'm a portrait photographer. It seems like I work full-time hours for part-time pay. There's parts of it that arevery rewarding, (I love shooting) and turning over the final product.The "just me" part has both advantages and disadvantages. My clients don't know or care that I am depressed. They want their pictures and there's no one else to put the load on. On the other hand, I have no bosses to answer to and I have become a lot more independent in terms of making decisions for myself. I tried the office thing (evaluating studies) for a while, but I couldn't do even the mildest office dynamics thing.
I have tried to hire people to help me print, but I am so perfectionist that it was impossible. If you saw my house, you'd never believe that i'd be at all perfectionist, but I can only
be perfect up to 16 x 20 inches.By the way, I learned photography when I got disability for depression. Gave me some money (not much) and the time to learn the profession. So I wouldn't feel bad about going on disability.
Shelli
poster:ShelliR
thread:27690
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020728/msgs/27719.html