Animal Welfare Professionals

Something I keep running into as we build out our prevention model in Central Alabama.

Housing is an animal welfare issue. We all kind of know this. But I don't think most of us have looked at the numbers closely enough to understand the scale.

PIHI (Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative) published data showing that 74.7% of pet-owning renters cause zero property damage. Of the remaining 25%, 88% of that damage is under $250. We are talking about a problem that largely does not exist in the way landlords think it does.

Meanwhile, when renters with pets can't find housing, 22.7% rehome their animal and 14% hide their pet entirely (which creates its own set of welfare risks). Another 23.4% declare an ESA, which is often just a workaround for restrictive policies, not a reflection of actual disability accommodation needs. That ESA loophole frustrates landlords and makes things worse for people who genuinely need service or support animals.

Here is what we are doing about it at Animal-Angels Foundation. We built a Pet Resume system through our AWRN (Animal Welfare Resource Network). Instead of breed labels, which tell you almost nothing useful about an individual animal, the resume gives landlords verified data: behavior profile, training history, health records, and rental track record. We pair that with an Anti-Damage Prevention Kit during onboarding and ongoing Bridge support if a housing crisis hits.

The pitch to landlords is simple. Pet-inclusive properties see 80% renewal rates and 70% occupancy compared to market averages. In a market with 6.9% vacancy rates nationally and 37% of properties offering concessions, that is a real competitive edge. And when you reduce ESA workarounds by just being inclusive from the start, you reduce the friction that drives landlords to ban pets in the first place.

The harder question for our field: how many of us have a housing intervention in our prevention toolkit? We talk about behavior support, spay/neuter access, food assistance. Those matter. But if a family loses their apartment over a pet deposit or a breed restriction, none of that other work matters because the animal still ends up in a shelter.

We are still early in testing this with landlords in our seven-county service area. I don't have outcome data to share yet. But the research is solid, and the gap in our field is real.

Who else is working on the housing side of this? I would love to know what is working, what is not, and where you are getting pushback from property managers.

#PetSupportServices*

------------------------------
BJ Adkins
Founder/Director
Animal-Angels Foundation
Pinson, AL
bjadkins@animal-angels.org
animal-angelsfoundation.org
------------------------------

Hi there,

I appreciate this post because I have also not often heard this issue talked about within the animal rescue realm, although it is certainly a prominent factor. As a foster-based dog rescue located in Colorado-specifically in places that have been heavily impacted by housing markets due to their popularity and cost, such as Boulder-we rely on the housing market to guarantee that we have enough fosters to care for our dogs. 

This being said, housing instability or conflicts are one of the largest issues we face when trying to secure reliable, safe households to care for our French Bulldogs while they recover from the surgeries and intensive medical care. Individuals may love the idea of fostering one of our pups, but their apartment complex may not allow it, forcing them to turn down our request to temporarily house a dog in need. 

What really stood out to me in your post is how much the facts contradict what landlords have been led to believe. The concept that pets create elevates risk within a house feels deeply ingrained in both the system of housing rentals and society as a whole, although after reading your post, it seems as though the majority of renters with pets are actually considered responsible, not high risk. This means that if this concept was not an issue, then there may be more renters who could help foster our dogs. 

For instance, we base whether or not one is allowed to rent in the first place on their credit score, and their past renting references anyway. Why not include Your Pet Resume on that "renting score"? 

To be clear, our organization is not working on housing as part of our prevention plan, but it is becoming a larger possibility. As the housing in Boulder worsens, and our foster options are therefore decreasing, this may be something our team should revisit in the future. 

I'm curious if you've found or thought of effective ways to reframe landlord's mindsets in regard to these issues? How can we ensure our messages successfully reach landlords? 

Thank you for bringing such an important topic to light, I think this is something more people should pay attention to. Not just on this forum, but also individuals within everyday life. Specifically, landlords as they have the power to implement change. I'm certainly interested in how a Pet Resume system would operate and redirect us moving forward, especially since the housing market is such an integral part of what we do as a foster-base rescue. 

Thank you,

------------------------------
McKenna Van Voris
Administration and Grant Writing Inter
Rocky Mountain French Bulldog Rescue

Original Message:
Sent: 04-07-2026 07:22 PM
From: Bj Adkins
Subject: Housing question we keep ignoring

Something I keep running into as we build out our prevention model in Central Alabama.

Housing is an animal welfare issue. We all kind of know this. But I don't think most of us have looked at the numbers closely enough to understand the scale.

PIHI (Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative) published data showing that 74.7% of pet-owning renters cause zero property damage. Of the remaining 25%, 88% of that damage is under $250. We are talking about a problem that largely does not exist in the way landlords think it does.

Meanwhile, when renters with pets can't find housing, 22.7% rehome their animal and 14% hide their pet entirely (which creates its own set of welfare risks). Another 23.4% declare an ESA, which is often just a workaround for restrictive policies, not a reflection of actual disability accommodation needs. That ESA loophole frustrates landlords and makes things worse for people who genuinely need service or support animals.

Here is what we are doing about it at Animal-Angels Foundation. We built a Pet Resume system through our AWRN (Animal Welfare Resource Network). Instead of breed labels, which tell you almost nothing useful about an individual animal, the resume gives landlords verified data: behavior profile, training history, health records, and rental track record. We pair that with an Anti-Damage Prevention Kit during onboarding and ongoing Bridge support if a housing crisis hits.

The pitch to landlords is simple. Pet-inclusive properties see 80% renewal rates and 70% occupancy compared to market averages. In a market with 6.9% vacancy rates nationally and 37% of properties offering concessions, that is a real competitive edge. And when you reduce ESA workarounds by just being inclusive from the start, you reduce the friction that drives landlords to ban pets in the first place.

The harder question for our field: how many of us have a housing intervention in our prevention toolkit? We talk about behavior support, spay/neuter access, food assistance. Those matter. But if a family loses their apartment over a pet deposit or a breed restriction, none of that other work matters because the animal still ends up in a shelter.

We are still early in testing this with landlords in our seven-county service area. I don't have outcome data to share yet. But the research is solid, and the gap in our field is real.

Who else is working on the housing side of this? I would love to know what is working, what is not, and where you are getting pushback from property managers.

#PetSupportServices*

------------------------------
BJ Adkins
Founder/Director
Animal-Angels Foundation
Pinson, AL
bjadkins@animal-angels.org
animal-angelsfoundation.org
------------------------------

Hi McKenna,

This is a great conversation, and you make a great point about addressing landlords' mindsets around pets in housing and how we can get the pet-inclusive housing message to them effectively.  At Pet-Inclusive Housing, we provide data, research,  reports, resources, and actionable tools that illuminate the path to more pet-inclusive rental housing for many housing stakeholders, including landlords.

We have resources like Breed ≠ Behavior, Mythbusting Statistics, Making the Case for Pet-Inclusive Policies, and many other tools to help in conversations with landlords about the benefits of pet-inclusive housing policies and how to implement them.

All of our free resources for animal welfare organizations, pet owners, and housing providers are available at petsandhousing.org. 

You can also access all of our reports, including our Pets & Housing Data 2025 Edition and 2021 Pet-Inclusive Housing Report, at petsandhousing.org/pet-inclusive-housing-reports/.

Please feel free to utilize and share our free reports and resources - we only ask that you cite us 😉

All the best,

Sara

Hi there,

I appreciate this post because I have also not often heard this issue talked about within the animal rescue realm, although it is certainly a prominent factor. As a foster-based dog rescue located in Colorado-specifically in places that have been heavily impacted by housing markets due to their popularity and cost, such as Boulder-we rely on the housing market to guarantee that we have enough fosters to care for our dogs. 

This being said, housing instability or conflicts are one of the largest issues we face when trying to secure reliable, safe households to care for our French Bulldogs while they recover from the surgeries and intensive medical care. Individuals may love the idea of fostering one of our pups, but their apartment complex may not allow it, forcing them to turn down our request to temporarily house a dog in need. 

What really stood out to me in your post is how much the facts contradict what landlords have been led to believe. The concept that pets create elevates risk within a house feels deeply ingrained in both the system of housing rentals and society as a whole, although after reading your post, it seems as though the majority of renters with pets are actually considered responsible, not high risk. This means that if this concept was not an issue, then there may be more renters who could help foster our dogs. 

For instance, we base whether or not one is allowed to rent in the first place on their credit score, and their past renting references anyway. Why not include Your Pet Resume on that "renting score"? 

To be clear, our organization is not working on housing as part of our prevention plan, but it is becoming a larger possibility. As the housing in Boulder worsens, and our foster options are therefore decreasing, this may be something our team should revisit in the future. 

I'm curious if you've found or thought of effective ways to reframe landlord's mindsets in regard to these issues? How can we ensure our messages successfully reach landlords? 

Thank you for bringing such an important topic to light, I think this is something more people should pay attention to. Not just on this forum, but also individuals within everyday life. Specifically, landlords as they have the power to implement change. I'm certainly interested in how a Pet Resume system would operate and redirect us moving forward, especially since the housing market is such an integral part of what we do as a foster-base rescue. 

Thank you,

------------------------------
McKenna Van Voris
Administration and Grant Writing Inter
Rocky Mountain French Bulldog Rescue

Original Message:
Sent: 04-07-2026 07:22 PM
From: Bj Adkins
Subject: Housing question we keep ignoring

Something I keep running into as we build out our prevention model in Central Alabama.

Housing is an animal welfare issue. We all kind of know this. But I don't think most of us have looked at the numbers closely enough to understand the scale.

PIHI (Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative) published data showing that 74.7% of pet-owning renters cause zero property damage. Of the remaining 25%, 88% of that damage is under $250. We are talking about a problem that largely does not exist in the way landlords think it does.

Meanwhile, when renters with pets can't find housing, 22.7% rehome their animal and 14% hide their pet entirely (which creates its own set of welfare risks). Another 23.4% declare an ESA, which is often just a workaround for restrictive policies, not a reflection of actual disability accommodation needs. That ESA loophole frustrates landlords and makes things worse for people who genuinely need service or support animals.

Here is what we are doing about it at Animal-Angels Foundation. We built a Pet Resume system through our AWRN (Animal Welfare Resource Network). Instead of breed labels, which tell you almost nothing useful about an individual animal, the resume gives landlords verified data: behavior profile, training history, health records, and rental track record. We pair that with an Anti-Damage Prevention Kit during onboarding and ongoing Bridge support if a housing crisis hits.

The pitch to landlords is simple. Pet-inclusive properties see 80% renewal rates and 70% occupancy compared to market averages. In a market with 6.9% vacancy rates nationally and 37% of properties offering concessions, that is a real competitive edge. And when you reduce ESA workarounds by just being inclusive from the start, you reduce the friction that drives landlords to ban pets in the first place.

The harder question for our field: how many of us have a housing intervention in our prevention toolkit? We talk about behavior support, spay/neuter access, food assistance. Those matter. But if a family loses their apartment over a pet deposit or a breed restriction, none of that other work matters because the animal still ends up in a shelter.

We are still early in testing this with landlords in our seven-county service area. I don't have outcome data to share yet. But the research is solid, and the gap in our field is real.

Who else is working on the housing side of this? I would love to know what is working, what is not, and where you are getting pushback from property managers.

#PetSupportServices*

------------------------------
BJ Adkins
Founder/Director
Animal-Angels Foundation
Pinson, AL
bjadkins@animal-angels.org
animal-angelsfoundation.org
------------------------------

Hi there,

I appreciate this post because I have also not often heard this issue talked about within the animal rescue realm, although it is certainly a prominent factor. As a foster-based dog rescue located in Colorado-specifically in places that have been heavily impacted by housing markets due to their popularity and cost, such as Boulder-we rely on the housing market to guarantee that we have enough fosters to care for our dogs. 

This being said, housing instability or conflicts are one of the largest issues we face when trying to secure reliable, safe households to care for our French Bulldogs while they recover from the surgeries and intensive medical care. Individuals may love the idea of fostering one of our pups, but their apartment complex may not allow it, forcing them to turn down our request to temporarily house a dog in need. 

What really stood out to me in your post is how much the facts contradict what landlords have been led to believe. The concept that pets create elevates risk within a house feels deeply ingrained in both the system of housing rentals and society as a whole, although after reading your post, it seems as though the majority of renters with pets are actually considered responsible, not high risk. This means that if this concept was not an issue, then there may be more renters who could help foster our dogs. 

For instance, we base whether or not one is allowed to rent in the first place on their credit score, and their past renting references anyway. Why not include Your Pet Resume on that "renting score"? 

To be clear, our organization is not working on housing as part of our prevention plan, but it is becoming a larger possibility. As the housing in Boulder worsens, and our foster options are therefore decreasing, this may be something our team should revisit in the future. 

I'm curious if you've found or thought of effective ways to reframe landlord's mindsets in regard to these issues? How can we ensure our messages successfully reach landlords? 

Thank you for bringing such an important topic to light, I think this is something more people should pay attention to. Not just on this forum, but also individuals within everyday life. Specifically, landlords as they have the power to implement change. I'm certainly interested in how a Pet Resume system would operate and redirect us moving forward, especially since the housing market is such an integral part of what we do as a foster-base rescue. 

Thank you,

------------------------------
McKenna Van Voris
Administration and Grant Writing Inter
Rocky Mountain French Bulldog Rescue

Original Message:
Sent: 04-07-2026 07:22 PM
From: Bj Adkins
Subject: Housing question we keep ignoring

Something I keep running into as we build out our prevention model in Central Alabama.

Housing is an animal welfare issue. We all kind of know this. But I don't think most of us have looked at the numbers closely enough to understand the scale.

PIHI (Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative) published data showing that 74.7% of pet-owning renters cause zero property damage. Of the remaining 25%, 88% of that damage is under $250. We are talking about a problem that largely does not exist in the way landlords think it does.

Meanwhile, when renters with pets can't find housing, 22.7% rehome their animal and 14% hide their pet entirely (which creates its own set of welfare risks). Another 23.4% declare an ESA, which is often just a workaround for restrictive policies, not a reflection of actual disability accommodation needs. That ESA loophole frustrates landlords and makes things worse for people who genuinely need service or support animals.

Here is what we are doing about it at Animal-Angels Foundation. We built a Pet Resume system through our AWRN (Animal Welfare Resource Network). Instead of breed labels, which tell you almost nothing useful about an individual animal, the resume gives landlords verified data: behavior profile, training history, health records, and rental track record. We pair that with an Anti-Damage Prevention Kit during onboarding and ongoing Bridge support if a housing crisis hits.

The pitch to landlords is simple. Pet-inclusive properties see 80% renewal rates and 70% occupancy compared to market averages. In a market with 6.9% vacancy rates nationally and 37% of properties offering concessions, that is a real competitive edge. And when you reduce ESA workarounds by just being inclusive from the start, you reduce the friction that drives landlords to ban pets in the first place.

The harder question for our field: how many of us have a housing intervention in our prevention toolkit? We talk about behavior support, spay/neuter access, food assistance. Those matter. But if a family loses their apartment over a pet deposit or a breed restriction, none of that other work matters because the animal still ends up in a shelter.

We are still early in testing this with landlords in our seven-county service area. I don't have outcome data to share yet. But the research is solid, and the gap in our field is real.

Who else is working on the housing side of this? I would love to know what is working, what is not, and where you are getting pushback from property managers.

#PetSupportServices*

------------------------------
BJ Adkins
Founder/Director
Animal-Angels Foundation
Pinson, AL
bjadkins@animal-angels.org
animal-angelsfoundation.org
------------------------------