Article
Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times
By
CHANDRA BROADWATER
Posted November 6, 2006
SPRING HILL - The state Attorney General's Office
is now looking into the case of Chloe, the 5-pound therapy dog kicked
out of a Weeki Wachee condo.
Dee Bordonaro received an Oct. 25 letter from
James Young, assistant attorney general in the office's civil rights
unit, saying she should receive some sort of settlement for her housing
troubles.
"You should be aware that the process for
resolving fair housing cases can be quite lengthy and frustrating,"
Young wrote in the letter. "After a brief review of the file and
history of this dispute, it is my opinion that additional settlement
discussions should take place."
The 62-year-old and her husband, 64-year-old Joe,
faced eviction from their condo at the Greens at the Heather when the
Weeki Wachee condo association refused to allow Chloe to live at the
home because of a no-pet policy.
Bordonaro bought Chloe, a white toy Shih Tzu, in
September 2005 at the advice of three doctors. Chloe was certified as a
therapy dog and has since helped to take Bordonaro's mind off her
debilitating health problems - multiple sclerosis, depression and
diabetes.
Though Bordonaro understood that Chloe was
technically not allowed in the condo, she asked the association to let
the dog stay for a few months, until the couple moved into a new home.
After lots of back and forth, the answer was no.
Bordonaro then took her case to the Florida Commission on Human
Relations.
In the meantime, she started visiting Chloe at the
home of her daughter, Chris LaRocca, in Spring Hill. LaRocca would also
bring the dog to her mother for parking lot visits when she was too sick
to leave home.
Bordonaro was disappointed when the human
relations commission ruled in favor of the Heather in August. It stated
that the association did not discriminate against Bordonaro by giving
Chloe the boot.
Because no one else was allowed to have a dog
after the condo association made its no-pet policy in 2004 and because
Bordonaro got her dog after that, she was not treated unfairly, the
commission stated.
But with the help of the Advocacy Center for
Persons with Disabilities, Bordonaro continued to explore her options.
The Tallahassee-based disabled rights group hoped to make a legal mark
in the new world of therapy pets.
And now, with the backing of the state Attorney
General's Office, Bordonaro looks forward to vindication. At the
beginning of October, she and her husband moved into a new home in
Sterling Hill.
The Heather's Brooksville attorney, Paul Nessler
Jr., has also since removed himself from the case. He advised the
association to retain an attorney with more knowledge of administrative
law.
"I
bet they're sorry they ever started with me," Bordonaro said Friday
in her living room, while petting Chloe who was sitting in her lap.
"Look, she's just a 5-pound ball of fluff that will lick you to
death and make you as happy as can be."
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