Los Angeles landlord discounts rent in exchange for pet adoption

Jessie McElwee began her apartment search in the Los Angeles area like most young adults, by skimming through the classifieds and trying to find a unit in her price range. However, when she happened across the ad of landlord Sandy Zalagens, she knew it was too good to be true. According to The Huffington Post, the ad read - "Rent is $950; $150 a month discount if you adopt Big Louie." As it turned out, Zalagens has been sponsoring rescue dogs and fostering animals over the past decade and was looking for a suitable owner for the 80-pound gray brindle Pitbull. McElwee now has a wonderful new home to call her own, at a discounted price, as well as a new companion to enjoy it with.

"Yeah it probably wasn't legal and I did catch some flack, but dog-rescuing is important to me," Zalagens told the news source.

Big Louie's story is very similar to other strays in the area - he was abandoned by his family and left to roam the streets. After he was picked up by animal control, Zalagens found the dog at her local rescue group and decided to volunteer as a foster parent and expedite the process of finding the dog a permanent home. She also told the news source that she has a bit of a soft spot for Pitbulls, and believes that they get a bad rap as being overly aggressive or vicious. In reality, Big Louie has turned out to be the ideal pet for McElwee, and the dog now has a regular spot on the couch next to Jessie and their feline roommate.

"Big Louie happened to be a Pitbull," Zalagens told the news source. "But if he had been a cute little Yorkie, my ad would have said '$150 discount on rent if you adopt this cute Yorkie' and the apartment probably would have rented in a minute instead of two weeks."

According to MSNRealEstate.com, landlords all over the country have begun to ease their pet policies to attract new tenants. The news source states that pet owners are typically less likely to experience rapid turnover, don't cause significant damage and can open up a wider pool of applicants to landlords. Of course, in Sandy Zalagens' situation, having someone adopt Big Louie was one of the most attractive aspects of having a new tenant!