We just want to be a big, happy family!

January 16, 2011 8:03 PM

I am possibly (hopefully) moving to Pomona, CA with my 6 dogs and 6 cats. City code says no more than 5 total. Am I screwed?

So I am hoping to be going to school in Pomona, CA, and am looking at houses, etc. I looked up the city code, which states:

" Sec. 6-41. - Limitation on number of dogs and cats kept.
No person shall keep more than three adult dogs or four adult cats, for a combined total of no more than five animals, upon any premises within the city, except puppies or kittens under the age of eight weeks. "

I have 6 pugs (mostly geriatric) and 6 cats. So even though on paper I sound crazy, my furry friends are very well cared for. They are quiet (mostly), clean, and well-behaved. Poop is scooped daily. The cats stay inside. Everyone is healthy and happy, well-fed, free of fleas, and completely spoiled.

Does anyone know if the city would grant me an exception or if the code is not really a big deal? I don't want to get out there and then get in trouble. Or can anyone suggest an area close to Pomona that would be zoned differently or exempt? Or any other wild suggestions? I would really like this to work out. Help?

posted by bolognius maximus to law & government (15 answers total)

Are you planning on renting? This many pets might be a big problem for you.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:07 PM on January 16, 2011

Will anyone know? If the cats stay inside, they will probably not be noticed. As for the pugs, can you walk them in groups of 3? I know I am suggesting that you circumvent the law. But this is what I would do.
posted by fifilaru at 8:08 PM on January 16, 2011

No, I plan on buying. Sorry about that, I should have made that clear.
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:08 PM on January 16, 2011

I have no problem with circumventing the law (I imagine that there is a law where I am now, but nobody has complained about me). I just wasn't sure if the city likes to hard-ass about things or if it's a general guideline.
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:10 PM on January 16, 2011

Rent in the unincorporated space adjacent to Pomona and Claremont ?
posted by iamabot at 8:10 PM on January 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

Be a good neighbor.
posted by philip-random at 8:14 PM on January 16, 2011

Are you attending Western? Do they have a big-sib program? At least a few upperclassmen will have navigated these exact issues, and by dealing with student peers, it won't be like calling the director of admissions and saying 'yo, I'm planning on possibly breaking some local ordinances.' There used to be an informal webforum run privately at one school. It has shut down now, but it was a great clearinghouse for the next class after they were admitted, and before they arrived in the fall. Your school might have an unofficial Facebook page for the class (or a classmate may have created one), and you can see what your classmates are planning as well. I don't think I'd ask on a Facebook page, personally, but man, other people have significantly less restraint.
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 8:30 PM on January 16, 2011

And by other people, I don't mean you--I mean a classmate may have asked this already and receivedadvice. Just to be clear.
posted by Uniformitarianism Now! at 8:31 PM on January 16, 2011

I'm a vet, and have written letters a couple times for breeders to get this type of exemption. Only once did the municipality ever call me, and the guy was clear that the code was in place so that the municipality had rules in place in the event that there was someone being abusive towards animals. Make sure your furry ones are all up to date, and call the local govt. It surely can't hurt.
posted by Nickel Pickle at 8:40 PM on January 16, 2011

Pug pictures:

pug/terrier mix

other photos here, here, here (old, blind, and mostly deaf yet seems very happy), here, here, and here.
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:53 PM on January 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

I remember watching an episode of Hoarders where there was a woman who hoarded cats. There was some mention of a license available to people who have a lot of animals, and it was along the lines of a small shelter or something. I can't remember the exact details or even where that episode took place, but you might want to look into something like that.
posted by two lights above the sea at 9:11 PM on January 16, 2011

I am willing to bet that most people probably don't know their local city ordinances on pets. In my experience these are largely unenforced and mostly so that people can't have abusive animal hoarding situations. As you'll be buying, you will probably face much less scrutiny than if you were renting. Your neighbors would be the most likely to complain, but they won't care about your dogs unless they bark a lot, bite a kid's hand off, or poop everywhere in the neighborhood without anyone cleaning up after them. You seem like a good caregiver for your pets, so I think those scenarios are highly unlikely.

My city (Minneapolis, MN) has a law that all cats, dogs, and rabbits must be licensed through the city. There's a choice of purchasing annual licenses or lifetime licenses. I've had three indoor cats for the past 14 years, and have never registered them. In fact, I hadn't even known about this ordinance until last year, when I started following my city's Facebook page. I've yet to be busted for my unlicensed cats even after posting about them in Facebook comments.
posted by autoclavicle at 9:21 PM on January 16, 2011

There are Pomona-adjacent unincorporated areas. People there have all kinds of animals that are usually not allowed.
posted by betweenthebars at 10:41 PM on January 16, 2011

In my experience (which is with my brother's chickens), the no more than 5 rule exists not to punish those with 6, or even with 12, well-cared-for animals, but to punish the guy with 35. Or 70. Or 7 desperately thin fleabitten animals. &c. Basically it's a way of stopping puppy mills and of intervening on behalf of people with mental illnesses or who can't keep up with the animals they have. I would bet a shiny nickel that even if you DO get in trouble, it will be fairly easy to get an exemption after the fact.
posted by KathrynT at 10:49 PM on January 16, 2011

I know a lot of people in Pomona with more than three dogs or more than four cats, because a family member was a veterinarian in that area. The area is quite animal friendly. You won't have any complaints if you buy a house in a horsey area (San Dimas and Covina in particular).
posted by acidic at 11:45 PM on January 16, 2011