Having a pet makes you feel less lonely and reduces stress, among other fun parts of owning them. But what is not fun is finding an apartment to rent that allows you to have animals living with you, as many landlords don’t trust people with making sure their pets don’t damage their property.

But living without pets is boring and sad, so even though people are told that no pets are allowed, they still sneak in a hamster or a cat, but just don’t tell the landlord about it. While your pet can be well-behaved and quiet, neighbors may still find out about it and snitch about them, but that is not what happened to thomas violence, who shared on Twitter how he found out about the secret pets in his apartment building.

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Many rentals don’t allow pets but this Twitter user found out that doesn’t stop people from keeping them anyway

Image credits: Reg Natarajan (not the actual photo)

Twitter user thomas violence has 84.5k followers and is one of the creators of the podcast Boonta Vista. He has a dog named Louis (aka Louie) and judging from the photos, he is quite a big boy. That doesn’t say anything about the dog, just that it is harder to hide him, as thomas violence lives in an apartment building where having pets is forbidden.

He once confided to a friendly neighbor that he was worried someone would complain about Louie to the landlord, but turns out that his worries were in vain, because every single person living in the 7-unit apartment complex had a cat and he was the only one without one.

Image credits: thomas_violence

Image credits: thomas_violence

Twitter user thomas violence has a dog named Louis, but his apartment building doesn’t allow pets

Image credits: thomas_violence

Image credits: thomas_violence

The Twitter user only had Louis over sometimes, as his landlord permitted it, but the dog also has another home. But the owner didn’t want anyone to take the time he spends with his pet at home away. Apparently, he has nothing to worry about.

The tweet went viral with over 174k likes and judging from the responses, having secret pets is more common than you would think. People in the comments started sharing that they too keep secret pets despite their landlord living next door, or even hiding a pet in their room while living with parents.

Image credits: thomas_violence

Image credits: thomas_violence

The dog comes to stay from time to time because his landlord allowed it

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As mentioned in the beginning, having a pet can improve your quality of life. Obviously they are great companions and will improve your emotional state by making you feel less lonely, and having something to take care of that is dependent on you makes you feel like you have a purpose.

Research by HABRI showed that having a pet means you have to create a routine, which provides security and a sense of order as well as a distraction.

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But he was still worried that neighbors could snitch on him to corporate

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Not only do pets help improve mental health, but if you have an active animal like a dog and need to walk it and let it get rid of its energy, owning one helps with physical health as well. Pets mostly are beneficial to the heart and dog owners tend to be less likely to get obese.

In addition to that, if you have kids, pets help them develop as people. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry points out that “A good relationship with a pet can also help in developing non-verbal communication, compassion, and empathy.”

Kids will talk with the animals and they become their secret bearers, and pets “provide lessons about life, including reproduction, birth, illnesses, accidents, death, and bereavement.” Taking care of an animal teaches them responsibility and helps create a routine and teaches them to stick with it. Additionally, they may feel more connected to nature.

The dog owner opened up about his worries to a neighbor and found out that he was surrounded by secret cats all this time

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Of course, a pet is a big responsibility and is not realistic to have for all people. They require financial resources, having to plan your life around them, having to deal with occasional destruction of the house, not to mention, some people are allergic to them.

Despite that, a lot of people decide to have pets even though they rent an apartment that doesn’t allow them or may charge them more if they decide to move in with one. The main reason landlords don’t want animals living in their property is because of the potential damage they can cause and they might fear complaints from the neighbors.

Actually, he was the only one in the building without a cat

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According to the law offices Stimmel, Stimmel & Roeser, in the US, “Landlords have the right to prohibit pets of any kind on their leased premises and also have the right to allow some pets but not others. Thus, a landlord can allow dogs but not cats, or dogs but only if less than a certain number or size, etc. In some states, a landlord can even insist that the dog or cat be spayed or neutered.” Of course, it doesn’t include service dogs.

On the other hand, the UK is planning to confirm a ‘Renting Reform Bill’ which would “legislate to ensure landlords do not unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge a decision.” Bored Panda talked about this amendment to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 in an article you can find here.

Turns out, secret cats and other pets are actually quite common because people can’t abandon their pets just because they can’t find a pet-friendly place to rent

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Do you think more countries should follow the UK’s example? Have you had trouble finding a new place to rent just because you have a pet? Have you ever hidden the fact that you have a pet from a landlord because they wouldn’t allow it? Share your experiences and thoughts on the topic in the comments!

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