Definitely be up front with them, no fudging the story (easy to detect when that's going on). I am an animal lover and landlord, so see both points of view, and do empathize. From their point of view: they saw the cat in the window, so for all they know it could have been there for months and they just didn't catch it. The problem with the carpet is also what happens after you're gone. Years ago, before I took over ownership/managment, the former owner had a tenant with a dog. He moved out, carpet was professionally cleaned. New single dad moves in with custody of 6 year old daughter on weekends. That little girl was so highly allergic to dogs, she had a terrible reaction whenever she stayed in the house. They could only conclude it was dander down in the padding (dirt, dust, everything works it's way down to the bottom, no matter how diligently it's cleaned). So everything had to be yanked out and replaced. So from that viewpoint, your management is exposed to liability. If they advertise as 'pet free', and if subsequent tenant turns out to be highly allergic, it's the landlord that's stuck with remedying the situation. If it's their policy to change carpet every three years (that sounds rather frequent though) then they're stuck changing it sooner than anticipated, and they are trying to avoid bearing an added expense they did not anticipate.

Oh, KitchenDetective, I am so sorry to hear what you are going through. I had to have my rottie girl euthanized in January after a long bout with cancer. I was devastated even though I had plenty of time to prepare.. and it's only very recently that my other dog has settled into the loss. I wanted to share my experiences because like you, my other dog is a lab and a rescue. I think those two things affect how a pet will respond-- labs are so incredibly social and sensitive to their "pack". My situation was compounded a bit by the fact that Beau, my lab, is very old and deaf. I had no idea how much Grace had assisted him in interacting with his world. They both always greeted me at the door-- but without Grace, Beau doesn't know when I arrive. He doesn't know when I call him for dinner or to go out. While in the old days he used to follow me around the house and be bonded to me, when I adopted Grace, they were much more bonded to each other. The good news is that now, 6 months later, he has become more focused and sensitive to my movements again and we are learning to work together despite the fact that he is deaf. Some of the things I did to help us both get past the grieving was to change some of our routines. Beau was my first dog and we were very well bonded but when Grace came into the picture the two of them were attached at the hip-- not that I was on the outside or unbonded but they definitely had thier own bond. I have spent a lot of time bonding with him again but in new ways (partially because he is now 16-17 yo). He won't go near where they used to sleep (they slept side by side) so I have taken that as a sign that he needed to change things up. I feed him at different times now and in a different spot.. our play is different.. and we walk, relax and bond differently and, of course, more frequently. I didnt share Grace's ashes with Beau-- it was clear to him that she was sick and he knew when she was gone. I don't know if it would have helped.. others in my life have been urging me to adopt another dog or a cat but I just don't have the heart for that right now. Beau is very old for a lab and I know my next loss will be even harder for me to handle. I question myself sometimes..because I DO think he'd do much better with another animal in the house. I don't know if that is an option for you, but it is something to consider. All I can say to you is to read your dog.. and to do what feels right for you, your family and him. My heartfelt hugs to you. I know this is a very hard time for you. I know nothing will make it better for you but I hope you find comfort in knowing there are others who understand your pain.

Since the topic is animals, in such a conversation, not all dentists are for humans. There are veterinary dentists and it's reasonable to expect one or more has developed a special interest in nutrition. In such a hypothetical case, the "sponsor" of such a site would be someone who went to vet school whose professional education and training could be the foundation for assessing pet food. That's why I made mention of it. For the last time, let's think about the bogus information on this site. Content produced by people without proper professional training. Without rigorous test procedures. This website: - does not perform chemical assays of the food they "test" - does not perform studies of the food they "test" - does not do double-blind studies comparing a given food with another, or with a "placebo" - does not compare content analyses on labels to accepted professional nutritional standards for animal requirements - does not employ people with professionally specialized training. Those who produce the content know diddly- squat about the subject matter. Know nothing about what animal nutritional requirements are. They read labels. Period. That's not testing, not comparing, not subjectively assessing. Not providing expert opinions. It's zippity do dah. Nothing. So, of what value is anything on there? Zero, I say. A big zero. How is the content produced? From unqualified people copying over product label information, and from reader comments. That's it. Heavens to betsy, don't any of you understand that this is useless non-information? No insights from analysis or use, no value added. It's as if one of you read a label and picked one product over another because it had 40% guaranteed protein instead of 35%. Does that matter. Is 35% adequate, or is 40% too much. You don't know. Similarly, they don't know. If you don't know, you don't know. The people producing this website don't know, don't have useful information, and rely on people swallowing their drivel and clicking on links to produce their income. The internet can be a very useful information source. Part of successful use is learning how to separate real information from not-real information. Anyone can put up a website with anything on it. No qualifications, no regulation, no validation, no nothing. It's like lining up random people in a public place and asking them a non-trivial question. You'll get a variety of answers. There are ways to assess which may be more likely valid than others. The same is true of "information" from the internet. You need to consider the source. This is a commercial site masquerading as something else. The "information" it presents is nonsense. Gullible people will accept it, more thoughtful people will see it for what it is. For those who like to link to prior discussions on recurring topics, please be sure to bookmark this page. I took the time, for the last time, to try to explain what others should see on their own. There's no need to repeat any of this for those who don't want to have their (unwarranted and well intentioned but misinformed) decisions challenged.

It has been 26 years since we lost our Snuffy, a Poodle Schnauzer mix. She was a terror in the garden. Cucumbers were her favorite. She would go through the vines till she found just the right one and grab hold and pull till she got it loose. She would then carry off her prize and eat it in the shade of a nearby tree. Of course that meant broken vines etc. She also picked her own green peppers to eat in that shady spot. Snuffy also loved ice cream and knew the location of the 4 places we often indulged in that treat. She knew long before we were in sight of those places and would start whimpering . If we drove on by she would complain bitterly with barks and yelps. 5 years after we moved from Ohio to Michigan, she remembered those places on a visit back to Ohio. Snuff was 7 years old when she was diagnosed with diabetes. We still allowed her to have ice cream now and then. When we could, we avoided driving past the ice cream places she knew. At home in the evening while we were watching tv or reading, we would often hear her soft whimpers as she sat in the kitchen in front of the freezer desperate for her ice cream. Snuffy died at 13 years. Her ashes we still have, stored in an Edys ice cream carton