Is San Francisco extremely dog/pit bull unfriendly?

[Lucky Luciano]

I live in NYC and I have done three phone interviews with a firm in SF - it is in a field of work normally associated with NYC all the way. I am under the gun to switch jobs at the moment. The SF people want to fly me out there for the in person interview. My wife is balking and she is backing up her argument by saying that her research indicates SF is an impossible place to bring a pit bull (our family dog).

Just about ALL landlords have breed restrictions in SF apparently. In NYC this is only a mild issue - there are tons of pitties here and lots of accommodating buildings - but yes - there are some assholes that ban the breed.

There is a zero percent chance that we will give up the dog. They could offer me a $1,000,000 guarantee, but I will not accept if it means giving up our dog.

Is it really do impossible to rent an apartment in SF in a very good neighborhood/building and expect to bring a pit bull?

I may have to tell the company that they will have to help us with locating good housing that takes our dog or I will have to call it off.

Would be nice to just go out to SF though at least to visit some friends there even if the job is not going to be a match!

[cliffordu]

1. One reason for the breed restrictions in San Fran is that a couple of years ago

some neo-nazi dude and his wife let the pair of pitts they were dog sitting tear a lesbian nurse to pieces in the hallway of the apartment building where they all lived.

IIRC, the wifey of the neo-nazi was home alone and tried to get the dogs off the nurse, but they killed her before wifey could control them.

[flvegan]

4. "pair of pitts" Really?

Those two dogs were presa canarios that were trained for fighting. That was over 10 years ago. SF's restriction was a direct result of a 12 year old being killed by an alleged pit bull(s), neither of whom were altered, one of them being in heat.

BTW, that "lesbian nurse" had a name. Diane Whipple. Have a bit of respect.

[pink-o]

5. And let's not forget who the ADA was on that case...

None other than Kimberly Guilfoyle...who went on to marry Gavin, then divorce Gavin, then become a Foxbot.

Nice way to climb the ladder of Fame.

[cliffordu]

6. Fuck. I'm a bad man.

What was the 12 year old's name, oh great arbiter of respect here at DU?

Proud to have disappointed you, hypocrite.

[mulsh]

11. I'm not the "great artiter of respect" but the 12 year old boy's name was

Nicholas Scott Faibish. The pit was his family's pet. They lived near Golden Gate Park

Diane Whipple was a soccer coach at St. Mary's College in Moraga, Ca, a suburb of SF. She lived in a large apartment building in Pacific Heights.

[Still Blue in PDX]

7. Thanks for setting the record straight. nt

[antiquie]

2. There have been a number of problems in SF.

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/06/18/child-mauled-to-death-by-union-city-pit-bull/

There is this, however:
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=pit+bull+friendly+apartments&find_loc=San+Francisco%2C+CA

You might try posting in the California group.

[flvegan]

3. Unfriendly for breeding them, IIRC.

SF has mandatory spay/neuter rules for pitbulls, and if you want to breed one you better have good reason. That's the only "rule" that I know of, at least.

BAD RAP is out that way. Give them a call/e-mail and see if they have any resources on pibble-friendly apartments, etc.

www.badrap.org

Thanks for being unwilling to give up your dog because of idiot knee-jerk reactionary morons and the legislation they demand and pass.

[Lucky Luciano]

15. Tyvm. I will look into this.

Family is family. To not abandon my dog is a no-brainier.

Also, it is not the laws that seem like a problem. It is the landlords.

[RebelOne]

8. Most big cities are unfriendly to pit bulls.

But here in North Georgia, the only objection to pit buls is when they are used for fighting. A Republican senator in my district got a bill passed in Georgia banning dog fighting. He was the only Republican I ever voted for because of that.

My son, who lived in Dawson County, that does not have a restriction on the amount of dogs owned, took in 7 pit bulls that would not fight. He had them all tethered in his back yard, but they were all on runs and had igloo dog houses. He found homes with families for them all. I asked him why he did not give them to a pit bull rescue, and he said he was a pit bull rescue, though unofficially,

[narnian60]

10. Good for your son.

I am so grateful to people like him who go beyond the call of duty for the animals.

[Lucky Luciano]

14. NYC is not bad at all. Lots of very nice buildings are totally cool with it.

We have lived in three different apartments without much hassle.

[Mr.Bill]

9. Most people who have jobs in SF don't live in the city.

Consider living in a suburb and commuting on BART. You will get a lot more house/apt, for the money outside of the city.

[Lucky Luciano]

13. I hear ya, but I want the urban lifestyle.

We choose to live in the heart of Manhattan instead of commuting from Jersey. It is a 7:00-7:00 job, so that is part of the reason I will pay more to make my door to door commute ten minutes. Plus all the amazing restaurants a stone's throw away.

If we do go for the suburbs and admit that we are now old, then we would look in the south peninsula, since the job is actually in South SF. In that case, I might like to be near Silicon Valley which is also cool.

[Mr.Bill]

16. I see what you are saying

San Francisco is a great city. I live 100 miles north and visit there several times a year. I do sort of classify it as "nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there". To each their own, I'm not being critical of someone wanting to live there, but it's crowded, noisy and a nightmare for driving and parking. I love the food, nightlife, etc, but after a few days I'm ready to leave it for my small town life.

I guess, like the OP said, the issue is the dog. If you want a yard for a large dog in SF, imagine the most you would ever pay for rent and triple it. Also, when looking for a place there, don't take it for granted there will be a place to park a car. That comes at a premium. Take a look at the Sunset district. That's probably as close as you can come to suburban amenities and still be in the city. Best of luck to you!

[mulsh]

12. It is pretty hard to find a nice apartment in SF. Rents are similar to NYC. I suggest you look in

east bay. Oakland, where I live, has plenty of families with perfectly wonderful pit bulls. We have a bunch of dog parks and if you look along the ridge of those hills behind us the top part is mostly regional parks stretching from Richmond to Castro Valley (where Rachael Madow grew up) Rents are less than in SF and you're not limited to apartments or condos.

the same applies to Marin and San Mateo counties. different parks though.

[KamaAina]

17. Oakland also has an urban lifestyle of its own

Might be a good compromise. Oakland has more artists per capita tan any other large U.S. city (because they've all been priced out of SF), a burgeoning food and nightlife scene, even its own Chinatown. Check out the Temescal area in north Oakland.

[rsampaio]

18. Were you able to find a place for your dog ?

May I ask you if you managed to find a place in SF ?

I'm about to relocate to SF and I'm very worried about finding a place that would accept my pit bull. Do you mind do share your findings?

Thanks and wish me luck!

Rodrigo.

[Lucky Luciano]

19. Hey man - turns out I got a better offer in Greenwich, Connecticut...

...so I remain living in NYC and reverse commuting to CT every day.