When It Comes to Sedalia/Warrensburg Apartments: No Dogs Allowed.

Remember the film "Snoopy, Come Home" where Snoopy runs away to find his original owner? On his journey to find her, he and Woodstock keep getting thrown out of places because "No dogs allowed." Trying to find a home in the Sedalia / Warrensburg area as a dog owner has been an experience much like that.

I'm on an apartment site and see an apartment complext that looks like the perfect home for the Creighton's, and then I see the note: No pets allowed. Absolutely no pets. Dogs under 20 pounds ok. Same thing with a lot of duplexs and even homes people are renting. Especially nice looking places for reasonable rents. I'm surprised how many landlords just say no.

I've lived a lot of places and each area seems to have a different vibe when it comes to pets in apartments. In Lubbock, it wasn't really a problem. Pet fees were high, but most places accepted pets. It was a little harder in Davenport. More places didn't take pets but there was still a pretty good selection of complexes that used pets as a selling place.

I get why some landlords just say no. Many of the dog owners at my complex in Lubbock had a hard time cleaning up after their pets. And that was with pet waste stations complete with doggie doo bags available. As someone that picked up my pet's waste I got annoyed stepping in some other dog's poo while walking my dog. I even lost a couple of pairs of gym shoes to that.

And yes, a destructive dog can mess up an apartment. I get that too. Our second dog Georgia, sweet girl that she was, had severe separation anxiety. If my wife or I weren't with her she'd try to escape wherever she felt confined. If we didn't crate her, she'd try to chew her way out of the apartment by chewing on the door molding. Maintenance had to replace that three times.

That's nothing compared to the dogs in our Davenprot apartment complex that completely trashed the living room blinds. Or whatever animal the previous renters had that peed in the heating vent that stunk up our second bedroom for months in Lafayette, Indiana.

So yeah, I get the apartmet complex or small business owner who owns a duplex or two just deciding it's not worth the hassle. Especially when dealing with residents can sometimes be a chore by itself.

The surprising thing to me is that there aren't more landlords jumping at the chance to serve Sedalia / Warrensburg renters that own dogs or cats. Especially when you figure in: $500 pet fee, monthly pet rent, and the security deposit. There's plenty of dough there to handle the wear and tear pets can cause. Even the apartments we lived in with Georgia, we managed to get fees back. And yes, I'm talking about the apertment where we had to have the door molding replaced three times.

Here's another thing, I've been staying with JJ (The Greyhound in the picture above) at the Best Western State Fair Inn. A certain ammount of rooms are pet friendly. I've been in six of the pet friendly rooms over the past sevveral weeks with JJ. None of the rooms have ever smelled like dog when I've walked in. JJ has never smelled another dog or been tempted to mark in any of the rooms. And I'd have to assume, the hotel has dealt with the occasional accident on the rug or the wall. And the smells and pet hair left behind by their four legged guests.

My point is, if a major hotel can give dog owners and their dog a room and manage to clean it up to perfection between guests. Then I suspect the fees pet owners get charged should be enough to get an apartment in great shape for the next renters.

Anyway, Kathy, JJ "The Chill Hound" and myself are looking for a great place to call home in Sedalia or Warrensburg. If you're a land lord or apartment complex that's pet friendly with a two or three bedroom apartment you have for rent, reach out to me at rob.creighton@townsquaremedia.com. We're still looking for our new place to call home!