Senior put out over no-pets rule

 

Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

By Josh Mitchell
Wednesday, June 16, 2004

At 85 years of age, Bernadette Casale lacks patience for the annoyances that other people call rules.

Her condominium's no-pets rule, for example.

So five years ago she bought a Chihuahua and sneaked the puppy into her suburban Delray Beach home.

The diminutive pooch, named Cha Cha, wasn't really a pet, she told herself, because she's so tiny, and never goes outside, and because who would be so coldhearted as to boot an elderly widow out of her home over a furry little friend that wasn't hurting anybody anyway?

"I took a chance," she admitted as Cha Cha shivered in her lap. "And nobody bothered me until a month ago."

That's when Casale, in plain view of her neighbors, held Cha Cha in the palm of her hand as she waited outside for a friend. A board member of her Bridgeview condo association spotted the 2 1/2 -pound dog.

"No pets allowed," he said.

"I says, 'Get a life,' " Casale recalls.

Instead, the association got an attorney. As a result, the condo board has given Casale until Thursday to get rid of Cha Cha -- or leave her condo of 20 years.

Casale says she's already made up her mind. "I could never give her up."

Casale is not the only animal lover in the neighborhood. The association says it has discovered at least six cases of residents who sneaked pets into their homes. All six were given the same options as Casale, the association said. The condo does not allow children, either.

Until now, the odds have been in Casale's favor. When she and her husband moved in 20 years ago, they had another Chihuahua, Chico, and the no-pets rule gave them no trouble.

Casale's good fortune emboldened her to buy Cha Cha to ease the pain of her husband's death 14 years ago and her health problems.

"Just having her and petting her, it's very therapeutic," she said. "For older people, they have to have something to live for, something to take care of."

Some of Casale's neighbors want Cha Cha exempted from the no-pets rule.

"The dog is her whole life, her companion," said Sheila Gendreau, Casale's friend. "She seems a much happier person."

Another neighbor said about 50 residents have signed a petition asking she be allowed to keep Cha Cha, but the condo board is sticking to the rule book.

"I like dogs, too," said Chris Termini, association president. "We're not picking on her. This is the rules. You don't change the rules for one or two people."