Latest / The Animal Advocate / Her Name Is Tangi: Why Housing Policy Is Animal Welfare Policy

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Her Name Is Tangi: Why Housing Policy Is Animal Welfare Policy · The Animal Advocate

• 0:01
  Before I even get into today's episode, I want you to know something.
• 0:05
  I was planning to release a completely different topic this week.
• 0:09
  And then something happened yesterday that I couldn't not talk
• 0:13
  about. I left a Pennsylvania SPCA board
• 0:17
  meeting feeling energized. But later I
• 0:20
  learned what staff had found on the front steps while
• 0:24
  I was there. A cardboard box
• 0:28
  taped shut in sub freezing weather.
• 0:33
  Inside was a dog. And there was a note.
• 0:36
  And I want to read it to you. I have no
• 0:40
  other options. It's either eviction or let the
• 0:44
  dog go. I filled out adoption apps, but
• 0:47
  nothing's happened. Today was my last day and
• 0:51
  my back is to the wall. She has all her shots.
• 0:55
  Good dog. Her name is Tangie.
• 1:03
  Welcome to the Animal Advocate, where we arm animal
• 1:06
  lovers with the information and inspiration you need to become
• 1:10
  effective advocates. I'm your host, Penny Ellison, and
• 1:14
  I've taught animal law and advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania
• 1:18
  since 2006. If you've ever thought
• 1:21
  someone should do something about that, I'm here to guide you
• 1:25
  on your journey to being that someone. You can
• 1:29
  find us on the web@animaladvocacyacademy.com
• 1:33
  and that's where you'll find show notes and resources and you can
• 1:37
  send us your comments on episodes and ideas for topics you'd like to
• 1:41
  hear on future shows. So on to today's
• 1:44
  topic.
• 1:52
  I've been doing this work for almost 20 years. I've seen
• 1:56
  a lot. But this image, this box, this
• 2:00
  note, this dog inside, wow.
• 2:04
  It made me sad and then it made me angry.
• 2:08
  And that's why I changed my topic today, because I wanted
• 2:12
  to talk about this right now. Because this isn't a
• 2:16
  story about someone who didn't care. This is a story about someone who
• 2:19
  cared deeply and ran out of options.
• 2:23
  Let's look at what that note tells us. It's either
• 2:26
  eviction or let the dog go. That's an
• 2:30
  ultimatum. She had housing until the dog became
• 2:34
  a problem. Maybe a new landlord, maybe a new policy,
• 2:38
  maybe an insurance change. Maybe a neighbor complained.
• 2:42
  Maybe a breed restriction she didn't know about. We
• 2:46
  don't know the specifics, but we know the choice she was given.
• 2:50
  Get rid of the dog or lose your home in
• 2:54
  the dead of winter. And she tried to find
• 2:57
  help. When she says she filled out adoption apps,
• 3:01
  she means surrender applications. She reached out to
• 3:04
  rescues. She was trying to find a safe place for Tangie,
• 3:08
  somewhere that could guarantee her dog wouldn't be euthanized.
• 3:12
  But nothing happened. The rescues are full. The no
• 3:16
  kill shelters are full. Nobody got back to her in
• 3:19
  time. She knew that our local open admission
• 3:23
  shelter, the one that has to take every animal, is
• 3:26
  beyond capacity and has been for a long time. Like
• 3:30
  shelters across the country right now, they can't guarantee a
• 3:34
  live outcome. So she
• 3:37
  brought her to us, to the pspca in a
• 3:41
  box, a U haul box, in the
• 3:45
  freezing cold. Because yesterday was her last day
• 3:48
  and her back was against the wall. She kept
• 3:52
  Tangie's shots up to date. She wanted us to know this is a
• 3:55
  good dog. She gave us her name. Not a
• 3:59
  dog. Tangie. Because she matters
• 4:03
  and because she's family. It sure seems like this
• 4:06
  person loved her dog. And every system that should have helped
• 4:10
  her failed. We talk a lot on this podcast about
• 4:14
  policies and laws that shape what happens to animals. So
• 4:17
  today I want to connect some of those dots.
• 4:21
  This woman had a home. She had a dog that she loved.
• 4:25
  And then someone, a landlord, an insurance company, a
• 4:28
  housing authority, told her the dog had to go.
• 4:32
  This isn't unusual. This is happening every single
• 4:36
  day across the country. People are being
• 4:40
  forced to choose between their housing and their pets.
• 4:44
  Not because they're irresponsible, not because they don't love their
• 4:48
  animals. Because we built systems that
• 4:51
  allowed landlords, insurance companies, and housing policies
• 4:55
  to tear families apart. Think about what this woman
• 4:59
  was up against. Many landlords ban pets
• 5:02
  entirely or decide to start banning them after you've already moved
• 5:06
  in. Others ban certain breeds.
• 5:10
  Insurance companies tell landlords they can't allow pit bulls,
• 5:13
  Rottweilers, German shepherds, huskies, regardless of the
• 5:16
  individual dog's behavior. So a landlord
• 5:20
  who was fine with your dog last year might not be fine with your dog
• 5:24
  this year because maybe their insurance changed. And if
• 5:27
  you try to find a new place that will take you and your pet, good
• 5:31
  luck. Housing that's affordable is scarce.
• 5:35
  Housing that's affordable and allows pets even
• 5:38
  scarcer. Pet deposits and monthly pet fees can add
• 5:42
  hundreds of dollars to already tight budgets.
• 5:46
  When this woman tried to do the responsible thing, find Tangie a
• 5:50
  safe place through rescue organizations, she hit a brick
• 5:53
  wall. And that just
• 5:57
  shouldn't happen. This is a systems failure,
• 6:01
  and it's something we could change if we had the will to do it.
• 6:06
  But this is bigger than animal welfare. Here's
• 6:09
  what I need you to understand. This is not just an animal
• 6:13
  welfare issue. This is a housing issue. This is a
• 6:16
  tenants rights issue. This is a community issue.
• 6:21
  And we won't be able to solve it if we stay in our silos.
• 6:25
  Animal advocates, we're good at Talking to each other. We
• 6:29
  know the problems. We know about shelter overcrowding. We know
• 6:32
  about breed restrictions. We know about pet policies that
• 6:36
  force impossible choices. But we're not going to be able to
• 6:40
  fix this alone. We need housing advocates at the table.
• 6:44
  We need tenants rights organizations, we need anti
• 6:47
  poverty groups, we need hunger relief
• 6:50
  organizations. Because the people facing these
• 6:53
  ultimatums are often the same people struggling to pay
• 6:57
  rent and buy groceries. So we need social workers.
• 7:01
  We need the people who work with populations facing housing instability.
• 7:06
  Because here's what those of us in animal welfare sometimes forget.
• 7:10
  The human animal bond. Sometimes it's not a
• 7:14
  luxury. For many people, especially people who are
• 7:18
  isolated or struggling, their pet is their only
• 7:21
  companion, their only family,
• 7:25
  their reason to get up in the morning.
• 7:29
  We've talked about this before, that studies show that pets reduce
• 7:32
  depression, reduce loneliness, lower blood pressure,
• 7:37
  give people a sense of purpose. For someone who's lost
• 7:40
  everything else, that dog or cat might be the
• 7:44
  only thing keeping them going. When the system
• 7:48
  forces someone to give up their pet, their pet suffers
• 7:51
  tremendously. Even if they get adopted into a new home,
• 7:56
  they often visibly miss their family.
• 8:00
  And it's not just affecting the animal, it's affecting that person's
• 8:03
  mental health, their stability, their sense of connection to the
• 8:07
  world. Housing advocates, they should care about this
• 8:11
  because keeping people connected to their support systems, including their
• 8:15
  pets, makes housing more stable. People are
• 8:19
  less likely to leave housing that lets them keep their animals.
• 8:23
  Mental health advocates should care about this because pets are therapeutic.
• 8:28
  They're not a luxury. They're medicine for a lot of people
• 8:32
  and tenants. Rights advocates should also care about this because
• 8:35
  forcing someone to choose between their home and their pet is
• 8:39
  a form of displacement. It's another way vulnerable tenants
• 8:43
  get pushed around. So we need to stop treating this
• 8:47
  as an animal issue and start treating it as what it is, a
• 8:50
  human issue that involves animals.
• 8:54
  So what do we do about all this? What are the policy changes
• 8:58
  that could have helped Tangy's owner? First, pet
• 9:02
  inclusive housing policies. Some cities and states are starting
• 9:06
  to limit or ban blanket no pet policies in rental
• 9:09
  housing. They're capping pet deposits. They're prohibiting
• 9:13
  breed restrictions that aren't based on individual behavior.
• 9:17
  California, Illinois, the District of Columbia, they've made
• 9:21
  progress. We need more of this and we need to do it faster.
• 9:26
  Second, insurance reform. So many of these
• 9:30
  ultimatums come from insurance companies. Landlords say they
• 9:33
  allow pets, but their insurance won't let them. We
• 9:37
  need legislation that prohibits insurance companies from discriminating
• 9:41
  based on breed. Some states have started doing this
• 9:45
  more need to follow. Third, pet
• 9:48
  retention resources. Programs that help people keep their
• 9:52
  pets, emergency funds, pet food banks,
• 9:55
  temporary foster care during a crisis. They can all prevent
• 9:59
  surrenders before they happen. These programs exist,
• 10:03
  but they're underfunded and hard to find. We need to build them
• 10:07
  out and make them known. Fourth
• 10:11
  and finally, we need to add rescue capacity.
• 10:14
  The rescues are full, the no kill shelters are full. The open
• 10:18
  admission shelters are beyond capacity
• 10:22
  now. This isn't going to be solved by having better adoption
• 10:25
  promotions. We need more foster homes. We need
• 10:29
  more resources for the organizations that do this work. And we need to
• 10:33
  address the upstream issues like lack of affordable
• 10:37
  or free spay and neuter that keep the pipeline of homeless
• 10:40
  animals flowing. Because frankly, I don't want to solve this problem
• 10:44
  with bigger shelters. I want to solve this problem with fewer
• 10:48
  animals in the shelter system. None
• 10:52
  of this is impossible. All of it requires us to work together
• 10:56
  across sectors, across organizations, across
• 11:00
  the boundaries. We usually stay inside.
• 11:04
  I'm going to do something a little different with this episode and that's this.
• 11:08
  I'm going to ask you to share it not just with other animal
• 11:12
  people, but those too. But I know you'll do that.
• 11:16
  I'm asking you to share with people who work in housing,
• 11:20
  people who work in tenants rights, people who work with social
• 11:24
  services, people who work in mental health.
• 11:28
  Send them the image of this box with the note on it.
• 11:32
  A cardboard box sealed with packing tape left on
• 11:36
  shelter steps in sub freezing weather with a note
• 11:40
  from someone whose back was against the wall. Ask them
• 11:45
  what would it take to make sure this doesn't happen again? Because
• 11:48
  we need a coalition, not just animal advocates talking
• 11:52
  to animal advocates. We, we need everyone who cares about
• 11:55
  vulnerable people and vulnerable animals to
• 11:59
  recognize that these issues are connected, that
• 12:03
  housing policy is animal welfare policy,
• 12:07
  that tenant rights affect pets, and that we're
• 12:11
  all in this together. I don't want to just be sad
• 12:15
  about Tangie. I don't want to be angry.
• 12:19
  I want to use this moment to build something. So
• 12:23
  here's what I'm asking. If you work in animal welfare,
• 12:27
  reach out to one organization in your community that works on
• 12:30
  housing or tenant rights. Start a conversation,
• 12:35
  Find out what they're seeing. Ask how you can support each
• 12:38
  other. If you work in housing or tenant rights,
• 12:43
  reach out to your local shelter or rescue. Ask what they're
• 12:46
  seeing. Ask what would help. If
• 12:50
  you're an advocate of any kind, look at the policies in your
• 12:54
  city and state. Are there bans on breed restrictions?
• 12:57
  Are there limits on pet deposits? Are there protections
• 13:01
  for tenants who already have pets. If not, start
• 13:05
  asking why not? And start pushing for change.
• 13:09
  And if you're someone who's been in this situation, who's been told to get rid
• 13:13
  of your pet or lose your home, know that this is not
• 13:16
  your fault. The systems have failed you, and we're
• 13:20
  working to change them. I want to end by
• 13:24
  talking about Tangie. She's safe now. She's
• 13:27
  warm. She's being cared for at the Pennsylvania stca.
• 13:31
  She's a good dog. Her owner was right about that.
• 13:35
  And we're gonna find her a home. That's what we do.
• 13:39
  But I don't want Tangie to just be another sad story with a happy ending.
• 13:43
  I want her to be a turning point. Every day in every
• 13:47
  city, there are people being given that same ultimatum her
• 13:51
  owner was given today. Choose your home or
• 13:55
  choose your pet. Some of them will leave their pets in
• 13:58
  boxes on shelter steps. Some will abandon animals
• 14:02
  and apartments they've been forced out of. Some will surrender
• 14:06
  pets to shelters that are already over capacity, knowing there's
• 14:09
  no guarantee. And some will choose
• 14:13
  the pet and lose their housing because they couldn't bear to
• 14:17
  let go. None of this has to
• 14:20
  happen. We can build systems that keep people and pets
• 14:24
  together. We can pass laws that stop landlords and
• 14:28
  insurance companies from forcing these choices. We can
• 14:32
  create safety nets that catch families before they fall.
• 14:37
  But only if we work together. Only if we
• 14:40
  recognize that this is everyone's problem.
• 14:44
  Only if we push like hell to make it happen.
• 14:48
  Her name is Tangie. She deserved better.
• 14:52
  Her owner deserved better. Let's make sure
• 14:56
  the next family facing an ultimatum has somewhere to turn.
• 15:01
  I'll put the image of Tangie's box in the show notes,
• 15:05
  show people what we're dealing with, and then let's get to work.
• 15:09
  If you have stories, if you have ideas, if you want to be part of
• 15:12
  building this coalition, reach out.
• 15:15
  Podcastnimaladvocacyacademy.com I'd
• 15:18
  love to hear from you.
• 15:24
  That's it for today. The Animal Advocate Podcast is brought
• 15:28
  to you by the Animal Advocacy Academy. You can find
• 15:31
  episodes and show
• 15:32
  notes@animaladvocacyacademy.com
• 15:36
  along with a link to our Facebook and LinkedIn pages where we
• 15:40
  discuss our podcasts, and we'd love to discuss your thoughts and
• 15:43
  experiences there. If you're interested in learning more about
• 15:47
  protecting animals, subscribe to the show so you get every
• 15:50
  episode when it comes out. If you have any questions on
• 15:54
  this or any other topic related to animal law, email
• 15:57
  them to podcastimimaladvocacyacademy.com
• 16:02
  and we'll make sure to get them answered. We'll either email you back
• 16:06
  or feature them in a future episode, or both.
• 16:09
  And remember, compassion is great, but
• 16:13
  compassionate action is infinitely better. Until
• 16:16
  next week, Live With Compassion.