Landlady wants to bury dead dog in the garden

robpw2

i would be saying no , whilst i am living in the property it is my duty to leave the house and garden as i found it , a huge hole with a dead dog in it was not there when i took up the property , if she wants to store it and bury it when i have left thats up to her...

greenhill

DiscoCat54 wrote: »

I've been on the other end of this issue so I woud start by saying that whatever you say or do, please do it with sensitivity. I lived in a rental house that was in a row or three with a communal garden. One of my cats was killed by a car and I asked my neighbours if they would mind if I buried her in the garden (yes, I know I should have asked the LL but I wasn't really thinking) they all agreed however with a compromise on the position (area closer to compost heap rather than under the apple tree).

I came back home at lunchtime the following day and found a cardboard box in my kitchen with a note from my LL saying 'you should have asked'. Inside the box was my poor cat - following a tip off from one of my neighbours he had exhumed her and deposited her in my house.

Opening that box was the most horrific moment of my whole life....

Oh bless you .......how bl**dy horrible can some people be!:mad:

jjlandlord

robpw2 wrote: »

whilst i am living in the property it is my duty to leave the house and garden as i found it , a huge hole with a dead dog in it was not there when i took up the property

This is rather nonsensical as the request to bury the dog is coming from the landlady herself.

chewmylegoff

isn't the answer to this that the tenant does not have to allow access to the landlord, and the landlord doesn't have any statutory right of entry for the purposes of burying a dog in the garden, therefore if the tenant does not want it to happen they should just refuse. if there is a risk that the LL will not comply with the request then change the locks i suppose.

if my LL desperately wanted to bury a dog in the garden, i would just let her get on with it, as long as it didn't alter my ability to use the garden. if there is going to be some kind of fido headstone in the middle of the lawn i should think i would probably say no.

UnitedSum

chewmylegoff wrote: »

if there is going to be some kind of fido headstone in the middle of the lawn

...

Although I shouldn't find any humour in any of this, the idea of the OP coming home to a headstone in the middle of the garden does make me giggle!

Dex

Both my cats are buried in the garden, I know they're a lot smaller than a dog, they are buried about 5ft because I didn't want anyone to ever dig them up accidentally , my husband buried his golden retriever in his parents garden when we first met as far as I can remember there were never any problems and you didn't know she was there.

It's a difficult situation, you could fight it but do you really want to? is falling out with your LL worth it? are you staying the the house long term or will you be moving on in the near future. Whatever you do if you choose to speak to her about it be sensitive as she will most likely v.hurt.

Bob_the_Saver

Does remind me of the Billy Connolly joke he told on Parkinson so long ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slw08b3bHFE

harrup

katepnlo wrote: »

I will go against the grain here.
If I was in the op situation I wouldn't be fighting it.
I would see it as I was borrowing her home, regardless of rent. The owner has lost a beloved pet who she obviously cares deeply for.
I wouldn't think twice about it. Dig the turf up carefully. Lay it back down. Won't notice after too long. It's coming towards winter time gardens don't tend to be used very much in our wonderful winter season.

I don't see what harm it will do...It's not like the space will be cornered off with a headstone. It will become part of the garden again

Ha, interesting how different people perceive a certain situation or circimstances.

I'm about as animal and pet crazy as can be - but I truly think the LL is being impertinent with her request. It doesn't matter who OWNS the house, it matters who LIVES in it.

There are boundaries for both parties.

This is to say - I understand that the LL would have issues if the OP currently living in the property wanted to bury their dead pet in the garden. Whilst they have "user rights" during their rental period, burying a dead pet would likely exceed those.

On the other hand, ownership or not, laying your pet to rest in a garden currently occupied by someone else ALSO exceed the "user rights" as a LL. Since, for the time being, it isn't the LL garden, whether the property legally belongs to her or not.

OP..... since you aren't comfortable with the LL request, if it were me, I would state that and politely decline. With as much sensitivity and compassion towards your LL as you can muster. There is no valid rationale, other than expense, why she can't have her beloved dog cremated. And her expenses really are her business, not yours. If she wanted to retain the use of her garden, for whatever purpose, she shouldn't have rented the property out.

harrup

DiscoCat54 wrote: »

I came back home at lunchtime the following day and found a cardboard box in my kitchen with a note from my LL saying 'you should have asked'. Inside the box was my poor cat - following a tip off from one of my neighbours he had exhumed her and deposited her in my house.

Opening that box was the most horrific moment of my whole life....

Cripes.....

Have you considered returning his "sensitive sentiment"?

As in leaving a cardboard box of similar size on his doorstep with the following note:

"I realise I should have asked. May I hereby make amends and ask you this - are you the biggest pile of the enclosed? Since my take on it is "yes". Sincerely Discocat"

I suppose I don't need to delineate what your box contains....

maninthestreet

So OP, is the LL's dog now pushing up the daisies in your back garden? If not, it must be beginning to smell a bit by now...