Englewood resident Christy Wooten spent six months searching for a home where she could live with her German shepherds Porter and Shadow.
She applied to dozens of properties, but was denied because many landlords and Home Owners’ Associations won’t rent to people with large dogs.
“No one would accept them, and they’re not mean dogs. They’re the sweetest things. I rescued them. It broke my heart,” she said. Now the dogs live in another state with her ex.
State Rep. Paul Rosenthal, D-Denver, wants to prevent other people from having Wooten’s experience. So he introduced a bill at the state legislature that if approved would stop HOAs or landlords from banning large dogs.
“It doesn’t matter the breed or the size. In a lot of ways, itap just: ‘is this a behaved dog?’” Rosenthal said. “I think this is a fairness issue and right now people with big dogs are being treated unequally.”discriminated against in a lease or by an HOA, just because of their size.
If the bill passes, it will not override cities like Denver, which ban certain breeds, or a HOA that bans dogs altogether.
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