Article Courtesy of The St. Petersburg Times

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Posted April 30, 2006

WEEKI WACHEE - At the advice of three doctors, Dee Bordonaro got a puppy.

Her neurologist, internist and therapist all told her that a dog would make her feel better. They said she needed to think about something other than herself.

Bordonaro, 62, was diagnosed three years ago with multiple sclerosis. The disease, which sometimes leaves her bedridden, also brought on bipolar depression.

Suddenly, her independence was gone. She acquired a collection of canes, walkers, a wheelchair and motorized scooter. Her husband, Joe, 64, helps her.

Not long after the initial diagnosis, doctors discovered she had diabetes, brought on by the MS medication.

As her health continued to worsen, Bordonaro decided that a dog might be the answer. She figured a small one would be best.

She also thought that because she and Joe had bought their condo before 2004, when the condominium association for the Greens at the Heather enacted its no-pet policy, that they would be grandfathered in. If there were problems, she would enlist the help of her doctors.

She figured the condo association board would understand once she explained.

Last September, when Bordonaro brought home Chloe, her fluffy white toy Shih Tzu, she realized that her doctors were right.

Within several weeks, she stopped taking Xanax for her stress. She used to take four pills a day on top of the Prozac she takes for depression. Her debilitating MS attacks didn't happen as frequently.

Her moods also got better. She liked to get up and watch 5-pound Chloe run around outside on her rope in the yard. People walking or jogging on the path by the yard always stopped to say hello and pet her.

Inside on the couch, Bordonaro would sit with her dog for hours, enjoying every lick.

For the first time in a while, Bordonaro felt like there was hope. In the meantime, she and Joe decided to sell their condo and build a house that would be more handicapped-accessible. She might need the extra amenities in the future.

The couple decided to rent from their condo's new owner until September, when their house should be finished.

Then, one day there was a knock at the door. It was condo association president Pat Churma. She said that an anonymous neighbor had called to say that Bordonaros had an illegal dog. Was it true?

"I admitted that we had a dog," Bordonaro said at her home one afternoon last week. "But I told her that my doctors suggested it. I gave them three letters. I explained to her how happy Chloe made me."

After some deliberation, the board decided that it didn't matter, even though there was a grandfather clause for people who owned pets at the time the new rule took effect. Bordonaro had gotten Chloe afterward, and there would be no exception to the policy, the board said.

"It appears that letters of medical necessity (3) as provided by our tenants, the Bordonaros, does not negate the "no pet' policy in the association documents we are governed by," Churma wrote in a letter regarding the situation. "This leaves us no recourse but to request the animal be removed from the community within 10 days of receipt of this letter."

The group also got its Spring Hill lawyer, Paul Nessler, to look into the situation. Neither he nor Churma were available for comment last week.

The letter stated that Chloe had to be out of the condo by Feb. 20, or the Bordonaros would face a $10 fine for each day the dog stayed after that.

Heartbroken, the Bordonaros decided to send Chloe to live with Dee's daughter, Chris LaRocca. Her Spring Hill apartment complex allows pets.

After Chloe's exile, Bordonaro had another MS attack. She says the stress of the situation instigated it. From her bed, she called Churma to ask if Chloe could come for a visit.

The answer was no.

Bordonaro now has to go see Chloe at her daughter's apartment.

"It's really sad," LaRocca said. "Sometimes my mom can't even get out of the car to come inside. So we have to bring Chloe out so she can sit on her lap and visit for a few minutes in the car."

Joe Bordonaro just wants his wife to be happy again. Chloe really did help her, he said. They only want the dog back until they move, which should be by the end of September.

"The thing that gets me is that on the date they said to have the dog gone, no one came to check," he said. "How do they know that we don't have it here all the time? Why didn't they care so much then?"

Dee Bordonaro has also filed a housing discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Because she was advised by doctors to get Chloe for medical reasons, the eviction may violate disability rights laws, Bordonaro believes.

Situations like this arise occasionally in communities across the country, said Frank Rathburn, spokesman for the Community Associations Institute, a homeowners association group based in Virginia. And they usually deal with pets and parking.

He said pets are issues in all communities, whether it's over droppings or dogs that bite.

"Every community has its unique attributes," Rathburn said. "Whether some are for retirement, some are active retirement, others focus on family, kids, swimming pools and playgrounds, and some have set up no pet communities."

People can make choices about where they live based on these options, he said.

But what about when a community changes the rules? LaRocca doesn't think the no-pet rule flies. Her mother and stepfather moved in before the policy took place, she pointed out.

"You move into a place with one set of rules, and don't move out just because you want a pet and can't have one because someone has changed them," LaRocca said Friday afternoon while her mother came over for a visit with Chloe. "It doesn't make sense."

Vicki Weaver, a social worker at Nature Coast Counseling in Spring Hill, said that animals give people a sense of purpose. They also make life fun. She has been involved in pet therapy since the 1980s.

Weaver has also helped treat Bordonaro. She was one of the three medical professionals to write a letter to Bordonaro's condo association when the group asked Chloe to leave.

"For someone that is depressed, taking care of an animal is something to do," Weaver said. "If they can't leave their home, it's another living being in the house. It's something to care for that gives back. And it takes your mind off your own problems, whatever kind of animal it is."

Whether she gets Chloe back or not, Bordonaro hopes she can make it until September.

"I need her desperately," she said. "It's like losing a child. I know it sounds silly, but I really do need her."