Pet-Friendly Retirement Communities (55, beach, move, Canada)

[JayDaughtry]

I'm writing an article on pet-friendly retirement communities in the U.S. and wanted to see if anyone had insights or comments. Please note that these do not necessarily need to be age-restricted communities (55 plus communities, active adult communities) but could also be amenity communities. I'm looking to identify those communities that have policies and/or facilities that are particularly pet-friendly.

[yellowsnow]

I've been looking for answers on this and nothing. I wonder if these places exist?

[OREGONRAIN]

Well I don't know of particular communities that are pet friendly as in active adult communities, though I imagine most of them are. I do know if you are looking for a metro area that is, it is Portland Oregon, I have never seen so many dogs, I have even seen them at restaurants here, and I mean alot of them were at some of them, I don't really care for the restaurant part though, especially in the large numbers I have seen them at. There are dogs, in stores, supermarkets, or the public transit. at the hospital emergency room, I saw that one night waiting to see the doctor. They are everywhere here, I don't know the reason, or any of the particulars, I just know I have never seen so many dogs in public places including housing, apts, condo's etc. as I do here.

[JayDaughtry]

In doing my research on pet-friendly communities for retirement I came across some interesting information.

First, many communities consider themselves “pet-friendly”, but generally this means that pets are not prohibited. Some go a step further and talk about their open space where owners can bring their pets for walks or to play. A few make real attempts at defining what makes a community pet-friendly and seek to integrate pet ownership into the neighborhood. Here are a few:

River Rock, located in Cashiers, N.C., is building what it is calling The Grizzly Poodle, a pet concierge service. The facility will offer full-service grooming and kennel and will also have personnel that can offer in-home pet care. The Grizzly Poodle will be located in Skillet Gap, an amenitized village for property owners in this gated community. This convenient location will also feature a general store and internet cafe.

The Falls at Eagle Crest, an active adult community in Central Oregon, allows pets, but they must be on a leash. Fences are prohibited in The Falls to preserve the natural beauty of the land. The community also boasts fifteen miles of walking trails, featuring stations with waste disposal bags. Further adding to its appeal, The Falls at Eagle Crest was named one of “America’s 100 Best Master-Planned Communities” in 2005 by Where to Retire Magazine.

Located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Rarity Ridge prides itself on being pet-friendly. The community has 5 1/2 miles of shoreline on the Clinch River; and of its over 1500 acres, over 400 acres have been designated for open space and parks. While pets must be kept on a leash outside one’s yard, fences are permitted in back yards; and invisible fences may be utilized to provide greater freedom to pets. Further bolstering their claims, construction on the shopping areas of the Town Center will begin this summer and will include a veterinary office which will be operated by a professor of veterinary medicine from the University of Tennessee.

As more baby boomers age and retire, look for more and more communities across the country to address the issue of pet-friendliness with creative approaches.

[HDL]

Great thread Jay! I'd be very interested in reading your article when it is completed. In 2004, I was looking for pet friendly areas of the country and came across huge dog parks in Northern FL (JAX and Gainesville I believe). It was a great concept and one I wish was done in more cities. I can certainly 'google' for more info, but if you can provide any 'urls' for the places that you mention above, that would also be very helpful:-)

By the way, are you a freelance journalist?

[JayDaughtry]

happydawglady-

Here are the urls you requested:




With regard to your question about whether I am a freelance journalist, the simple answer is yes. The primary business, however, of Retirement Relocation ([url Moderaor cut[/url]) is to provide guidance to clients looking to purchase retirement, vacation home, or investment properties. Lastly, postings and articles on related topics can be found on my blog "39 Roads" at moderator cut/ (broken link)

[JayDaughtry]

In doing some additional research I ran across a very helpful site in www.DogFriendly.com. It has a guide to off-leash dog parks in the U.S. and Canada. You cannot query it or find rankings of cities with the most dog parks. While I did not look at every single state, I was able to come to some conclusions.

First, there are for more dog parks catalogued in the West and Southwest than there are in the Southeast. I'm not sure if this is indicative of a friendlier dog environment or that the web site has done a more thorough job of chronicling the ones in the West. An additional theory might be that there are more places in the Southeast where dog leashes are simply not necessary in the first place. Further adding to that perspective is that Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee are not even listed in the guide.

Overall, the results of my survey of this site were revealing. Some cities in the Southeast have a couple of off-leash dog parks each, like Charlotte, N.C. and Charleston, S.C. Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Virginia had a strong showing with five parks in the Tidewater region. Florida seems to do better than the rest of the region with four of these dog parks in South Florida and six in the Tampa area.

As we move west across the country, the scene begins to change in Texas. Houston has three off-leash dog parks while Austin tops what we've seen before with ten! The best named parks award goes to the Fort Worth, Texas Fort Woof Dog Parks.

In the West Oregon puts in solid numbers with six parks in Corvallis, four in Eugene, and two in Salem where dogs roam freely. On a per capita basis, Portland must lead the nation in dog parks with an astounding fifteen. This finding is certainly in line with what OREGONRAIN reported previously about the culture of this city. California shows itself to be dog-friendly with six in L.A. and thirteen in both Sacramento and San Diego.

The Southwest really sets the standard though. Tucson has eight dog parks while the Albuquerque metropolitan area boasts nine. Greater Phoenix reigns supreme in my survey with a whopping 23 off-leash dog parks.

[Katie1]

Originally Posted by OREGONRAIN

Well I don't know of particular communities that are pet friendly as in active adult communities, though I imagine most of them are. I do know if you are looking for a metro area that is, it is Portland Oregon, I have never seen so many dogs, I have even seen them at restaurants here, and I mean alot of them were at some of them, I don't really care for the restaurant part though, especially in the large numbers I have seen them at. There are dogs, in stores, supermarkets, or the public transit. at the hospital emergency room, I saw that one night waiting to see the doctor. They are everywhere here, I don't know the reason, or any of the particulars, I just know I have never seen so many dogs in public places including housing, apts, condo's etc. as I do here.

Sounds like there are a lot of SERVICE DOGS in your area, like GUIDE DOGS they are allowed in food service places. And anywhere else the owner goes. These are trained to do a job and are not PETS..Now tell me your location so i can move with my service dog...

[petfriendly]

This message is for Jay Daughtry.

Are you still pursuing your research into pet-friendly retirement communities? The thread seems to have stopped way back in May 2007. Don't know why. It's a great topic that I think a lot of people would be interested in. I sure am. Is there any way to get this subject going again?

[brightdoglover]

Many condo communities specify what size animal you may have, or only one animal, or only 20 pounds, etc. I wish retirement communities would have communal animals that people could sign out and spend time with, without owning. I think most older people fear leaving their animals behind. For that matter, I fear a sudden demise and, living alone, have tried very hard to set up placement and finances for my multiple dogs. I'd hate to see older people not have pets because they fear outliving them. Imagine having rescue animals as communal pets!