Lee County is Doggone Friendly
By Elizabeth Dougherty
Are Lee County, Auburn and Opelika "pet friendly" places to live
and visit? The answer is a resounding "yes"!
Whether you are visiting or living here, you will see that pets
(most noticeably dogs) are a big part of this community. You will
see them in trucks, cars, out for a walk with their owners and
running at the parks. Many Lee County parks
allow dogs. Having to leash your dog at the
park seems normal, but in some local
parks dogs can go unleashed if they are
trained to obey voice commands. You
will likely never see that in a "big
city" municipal park.
Go outside on any clear, cool, starlit
Alabama night and as you enjoy
the moment, I can assure you that
the silence will be punctuated with the
neighborhood dogs barking to each other from
time to time.
Our family, like many, occasionally travels with our dogs. We
have two incredibly spoiled shelties. When we first were visiting
the Auburn area, I was pleased to find the hotels so welcoming
to dogs. In large cities, most hotels do not take dogs at all.
Some luxury hotels, like the Four Seasons, do, but it is not an
inexpensive lodging experience. Even then, you are usually
limited to one "small" dog, although they seem to turn a blind
eye to the occasional well behaved transgressor. Pet deposits of
$25 to $75 per day are not uncommon.
If you are visiting it is easy to find a pet friendly hotel. A good
place to start is:
http://www.pets-allowed-hotels.com/.
However, it is ALWAYS a good idea to call
and verify the current policy. (Things change and
hotels are bought and sold all the time.)
This week I called the Hotel at Auburn
University to ask them their pet policy. They
welcome guests with dogs. There is no
deposit – NO DEPOSIT – incredible! They
only ask that you leave a phone number to
reach you in case the dog is barking while
you are away. Most hotels do not want you to
leave the dog unattended – ever.
I could not help but ask what the size limitation was.
There is none of this 20-pound maximum nonsense with the
Hotel at Auburn University. Apparently whether you check in
with an Irish Wolfhound that can stand seven feet tall, a 200
pound Great Dane or a two pound Chihuahua – it is all the same
to them. While several local hotels and motels take dogs, the
Hotel at Auburn University is the doggone pet friendliest.
While you are searching for that perfect home to purchase, you
don't need to worry about renting in this area with a pet. With
the same "love you- love your dog(s)" attitude, many landlords
in Lee County just accept dogs as a way of life. If you look at the
local house and apartment rental ads (available in the Opelika-
Auburn News) you will notice the welcoming attitude in this
area. Usually, there is not ONE pet allowed but PETS, as in more
than one, allowed. There are no size requirements with many
landlords so you Irish Wolfhound fans are in luck.
Fido can rest assured he is welcome in Lee County.
Liz Dougherty has been a freelance food
writer and culinary consultant through
her company, Culinary Pursuits, Inc., for
the past six years. She trained under a
maniacal Swiss-German chef and later
received her Bachelor's degree, Magna
Cum Laude in Hospitality. Prior to that,
she was a licensed real estate broker and
mortgage broker with a total of over
ten years experience in real estate and
finance. She can be reached at
EADougherty1@aol.com
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