Eugene Dog-Friendly Apartments (Springfield, Coburg: lease, houses, school)

[nausax]

Hello,

I'm a first-year grad student at UO, and I am currently living in the Thurston area of Springfield and commuting to school every day. I'm getting really tired of what can easily become a 25-30 min drive (during rush hour) from Thurston to 18th/Harris, so I'm interested in moving closer to campus as soon as my current lease ends in August. Ideally, I'd like to be close enough to bike to school, but I'm open to a short drive from somewhere like the Amazon area, Coburg Rd, Valley River, Pioneer Pkwy, etc. What complicates matters, and the reason I ended up all the way out in Thurston to begin with, is the fact that I have a 55lb Australian Shepherd (NOT an aggressive breed--very similar to border collies).

I've found that it's extremely difficult to find apartments that allow larger dogs in Eugene/Springfield, especially near campus. Anyway, I can stretch my budget as high as $800/month, and I really only need a 1bd/1ba or studio apartment. The few places I've found on Craigslist and ForRent that fit my criteria are either too far away, have horrible reviews, don't have any apartments available, or some combination of all of the above. I am a responsible pet owner and my dog causes no problems, so why is it so difficult to find a place in Eugene to live? I'd get a roommate and move into a house if I could, but I am very quiet and don't make friends easily, so that's not really an option right now--I'm pretty much limited to apartments.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Should I just drive around and look for apartments in areas I'm interested in that may not advertise online, take a risk on places with bad reviews, or call and beg places with 25/35lb weight limits to reconsider a larger dog? Maybe someone on here knows of some good places that allow larger dogs? I appreciate any and all advice/tips. Thank you!

[Steve Pickering]

Things haven't changed. You will have the same choices you had before. Look for a house instead of an apartment. You'll have better luck.

[Metlakatla]

You keep typing about "reviews," which indicates that you're looking at complexes. There are plenty of large, former one-family homes in Eugene that have been broken up into apartments -- look for something like this that is owned by a private individual. Also, you're probably going to have to sacrifice a five-minute bike ride to campus. Things might begin to open up more in June, though.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

One thing you can do is to call the buildings that do allow dogs. Tell them that you have an Australian Shepherd and ask them if they will agree to meet the dog before they say no to him.

I have only rented 3 times in my life, all three times in a no pet rental. All three times with multiple dogs, including dogs over 125 pounds. All three times I asked the landlord to meet the dogs before rejecting them and all three times, the landlord was glad to have my family.

I showed him spotlessly clean dogs and put them through all of their obedience routine to show their extensive training. At one house the landlord had the neighbors over to say yes or no to living next to FOUR gigantic dogs and the neighbors were delighted by the temperaments and training of the dogs.

All the landlord wants is to know that his place won't be destroyed and he won't be sued because your dog bit a child. He doesn't want to hear complaints about barking or poop. If you have proof that none of that will be a problem, you have a chance of getting that rental.

Please note, as a landlord I get to see a lot of filthy, out of control dogs that applicants are trying to convince me are "sweet" dogs and are hoping I will rent to them. Sorry, not going to happen and I allow dogs in my houses, but not that kind.

[nausax]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. That's all very good information. My dog is clean and well-behaved, so that is a good idea to ask places that may not be dog or large dog friendly if they'd agree to meet her and make an exception to their policy. I suppose the worst that could happen is they say, "no". She's also been through training, and I'm sure that my previous and current landlord would vouch for her behavior.

I haven't seen many triplex-type situations available, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for them, particularly in June once students begin leaving for summer. I plan on staying in town this summer, so I'd hope that gives me a bit of an advantage

[bler144]

If you haven't, I'd at least look at the 2BR apts in the old Westmoreland complex. They almost always have vacancies turning over, so they may be amenable to a well-behaved larger dog. That said, they're pretty small spaces, so I wouldn't try and get a 50 lb dog in a 1BR. https://www.jenningsgroup.com/find-r...ancies-eugene/

It's a 10-20 minute bikeride depending on your level of fitness.

[Steve Pickering]

I thought they only take students there.

[Metlakatla]

The OP is a student.

[Steve Pickering]

I just called my friend who lives in the Old Westmorland Married Student Housing. No large dogs. PERIOD. We have an Aussie here and I just don't see them as a large dog.

[bler144]

Quite possibly a no on the large dogs, it was just a thought. And doesn't hurt to at least ask mgmt.

Westmoreland used to be graduate student housing, and very affordable. The university sold it off to Jennings Prop Mgmt back in...2005? Was a bit of an outcry at the time, especially since it was one of the few very affordable options open to graduate students with families, particularly int'l students.

They spruced it up a bit and doubled rents. I think it still attracts a number of grad students, but it's completely available to the public these days.