HOA Bans Specific Dog Breeds From Complex
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Lark Worthey received a letter from his home owners association at Remington Point Villas in Northwest Fort Worth telling him dogs like his three-month old Pit Bull King will no longer be welcome in the Remington Point Villas HOA in the future.
"I said, 'Okay. Here we go,'" Worthy said.
The letter states from this point forward Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Dobermans are not allowed. Current owners have to register the animals with the management companies or get their animals off the property.
HOAs are supposed to be here to make things better," Worthey said. "Not to be some type of bureaucracy where it's 'Hey! We decided," You know? That just doesn't make sense to me."
But while dog owners are howling foul, others don't mind.
"I'm okay with it depending on the breed," said Cheryl Jones who lives near Worthy. "There are certain types of dogs I don't care for being in the neighborhood."
The neighborhood debate over the HOA rules all center over how people view dogs like King.
"Back in 2009, I was bitten on the ankle by a Pit Bull and had to go to the hospital," Jones explained.
"Oh! He is very friendly with everybody!" Worthey exclaimed as he played with the gray and white puppy. "And that's how we raise him."
"I'm a little leery of them," Jones said of the Pit Bull breed. "I try not to engage with them too much or get overly friendly."
Worthey said each dog, not each breed, has its own personality and should be judged separately.
"And that's the whole myth about Pit Bulls," Worthey said. "It's the people, not the dog. And he's a perfect example."
The HOA letter stated any other breeds excluded by the City of Fort Worth would be banned by the HOA, too. But city officials were quick to point out it is illegal in Texas for a city to ban dogs by breed. It was unclear if that applied to HOAs.
The Remington Point Villa HOA manager did not reply to a request for an interview.
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