Kelsey Westbrook, the waitress who adopted the female pit bull, “Sunny,” said the company that owns her Old Louisville apartment will not let her to keep the dog there.

“They’re claiming that they don’t allow vicious breeds on the property, and I have a lease violation by having her on the property,” Westbrook said.

Louisville firefighters rescued Sunny from the Ohio River Sunday after she was dumped off the bridge to the water roughly 80 feet below. Bystanders said they saw a white Chevy Malibu stopped on the bridge in the southbound lanes just before Sunny fell.
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Westbrook also owns a 2-year-old German shepherd mix named Nala and pays a monthly fee to keep Nala in her apartment. Westbrook said apartment officials told her she can’t make the same arrangement for Sunny because the pit bull is considered a vicious breed.

The Web site for Arete Real Estate, which owns Westbrook’s apartment, states that renters must fill out an application to keep a pet at their home and “pet applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and depend on several factors” including the particular apartment and type of flooring.

“You must obtain our written permission prior to allowing any type of pet on the premises,” the site states.

Officials with Arete would not comment on Westbrook’s lease.

Tim Barry, director of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority, which owns nearly 5,000 apartments in the area, said his organization rejects “any animal deemed to be potentially harmful to the health or safety of others.” That includes pit bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers, German shepherds and any dog over 25 pounds.

“I don’t know of public housing anywhere that would allow those dogs,” he said. “I’m speculating that probably holds true in most of the private apartment worlds.”

Michelle Ray, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Humane Society, said the society does not support any specific breed being labeled as vicious.

Westbrook said apartment officials gave her two days to remove Sunny from her apartment, telling her they will be conducting random inspections. For now, Westbrook is keeping Sunny at her boyfriend’s house while she explores her options. She said she’s looking into the possibility of prematurely ending her lease.

ThankYouNews would like to call for local residents to step up and help Kelsey with her humanitarian dilemma.

Source: CourierJournal.com