If it’s a Dog’s Life, Count me in

Pet spas, doggie daycare, summer camp – these days, it seems like our canine companions are living high on the hog, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor. Condo dwellers, especially, are going to the dogs.

It’s not uncommon to take occupancy of your new condo and discover that the amenities aren’t finished. Sometimes it can take quite a while before the yoga studio and steam rooms are up and running, but somehow we manage. Party room not finished? There are always local restaurants for gathering. But oh, what horrors if the pet spa isn’t done!

Last month, the Globe and Mail reported that residents at Trinity Lofts in the Distillery District had their fur ruffled because their pet spa still wasn’t done more than a year after occupancy. Turns out, the spa was cut from the final plans because of city-imposed rules about bike lockers that needed the space.

The president of the building’s condo board was particularly put out, even going so far as to say that “a lot of people bought into the building because they thought, ‘oh great, there’s going to be a dog wash.’ People want the dog wash.”

I’m not sure your priorities are quite in order if the pet spa was too far up your list of must-haves, but it looks like I might be in the minority. Not only pet spas but also dog runs and doggie-devoted bathrooms are being touted as the new must-haves for urban dwellers, not just to placate dog owners, but to keep the peace with their less dog-friendly neighbours. The Globe says dogs were “one of the top issues” that came up in city consultations with condo owners about what their communities need. Top issues! Dog amenities, the city says, will help keep the peace between the two factions.

A Menkes executive said dog ownership was a “rising hot-button” for buyers. City councillor Adam Vaughan told the Globe an “amazing percentage” of condo buyers have dogs, something the city didn’t foresee. “Now,” he says, “we’ve got to figure out how the next generation of condominiums accommodate dogs because clearly dogs are part of the community.”

The considerations are numerous, including some I’ll bet you never thought of. Vaughan says councillors are worrying about how dog pee affects plants and trees, as well as how neighbours are disturbed by barking, and how non-owners are affected by having to share close spaces like elevators and stairwells with the four-footed fleet. He’s talking about putting dog runs with doggie bathrooms on top of our ubiquitous condo podiums.

My first thought on all of this was that, while I like dogs as much as the next guy, it seems a bit over the top. Seriously, they’re dogs! Didn’t they used to adapt to our lives and not the other way around? But then I realized that dogs can be a conduit to better neighbourly relationships, that dog owners talk about their dogs as an icebreaker, and having one around will often spark conversations that wouldn’t happen otherwise. Ironically, dogs can really bring out our humanity. Or lack of it.

Rules for dogs vary widely from condo to condo. Some restrict the size of dog you can have, or even the number of pets, so if you’ve also got a couple of cats you’re out of luck. It’s a pretty safe bet if your pooch is the love of your life and your prospective condo is restrictive about it, it’s not the building for you.

Condos have become the de facto first home for many buyers, with more than half of new homes sold in the past year in the GTA accounted for by condos. If condo buyers say they need dog amenities, dog amenities they will get.

Let’s look at it as a test. If we can get along well enough to do right by our dogs, if we can put into place the necessary infrastructure to support them, and produce condominium communities that truly encompass these most beloved members of the family, we might just prepare ourselves to tackle something truly radical — children.