Terminal Cancer Patient Victorious in Fight to Keep Dog
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6 commentsImagine that you’ve just received the worst possible news, that you’ve been diagnosed with an incurable terminal illness. Now imagine your dog being taken away from you at the same time. A Florida woman says that’s what almost happened to her, and after news of her story spread, her condo association was flooded with calls and letters that eventually forced them to reverse their decision to ban her dog.
Ruskin, Florida resident Pat Picavet is a terminal cancer patient living on borrowed time. She says that in the struggle to maintain hope and positivity, her greatest comfort is her dog Marley. The chocolate lab helps her fight depression, and Picavet says she has letters from her doctors to back that up.
“I do feel calmer when she’s there… more at peace, I guess you could say,” Picavet says.
Peace has been in short supply since the Bahia Del Sol Condo Association told Picavet that she would have to get rid of Marley because she was over the association’s acceptable weight limit. Apparently that fact was overlooked when she moved in, and in a case of terrible timing, someone on the association board recently connected the dots and ordered that Marley be banned from the complex.
Picavet was not willing to accept that order, and shared her story with local news stations. As word of her plight spread through the local community, protesters contacted the Bahia Del Sol Condo Association to voice their displeasure with the decision. That pressure was just enough to make a difference: Picavet’s attorney said the condo association reversed its decision overnight – and Marley is not going anywhere.
Pat Picavet does not know how much time she has left, but says she takes comfort in the fact that she will not be forced to live out her days alone. “There are a lot of days I wake up and I’m not happy, so to hear this made me happy – very happy,” she said.
I really never understood the weight limit in most condo and apartment units regarding dogs. Little dogs can be just as destructive and badly behaved as big dogs (in my personal experience, most are worse). I think such units should place more emphasis on how well-trained the pup is and if the dog is CGC certified or therapy dog certified rather than if they’re under the 25lb benchmark.
Maybe someone who rents out buildings could explain the purpose of a weight limit over a training requirement to me?
Also, yay that the decision to remove the dog was overturned! Cancer’s hard enough, but having your best friend and companion taken away from you at the same time…
The condo association = piece of crap.
While it might be easier for a person to live in a condo than a house, most of them are run by Nazi-type terrorists who make up impossible-to-follow rules and find fault with everyone and everything. I’d live in my car before I’d live in a condo.
I am happy to read that she gets to keep her dog. I hope that she has a home for Marley to go to after she passes on.
I agree that the weight limit thing has never made any sense to me. I think it’s really just an excuse for condo associations and landlords to keep the overall number of pets in the property lower.
I read the condo documents VERY CAREFULLY before moving into our place! Thankfully nothing there to endanger our ability to own any kind of pet we want, any size, any number.
I am very glad she gets to keep Marley with her.