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Landing with a pet - First housing/AirbnB

mattjp1

Hero Member
Jul 23, 2017
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Hi all,

I am landing end March with a small dog, so I started looking for the first short term accommodation.

It seems difficult to find an AirbnB apartment in Toronto, that is available for around 4 weeks and that accepts pets.

So I am wondering if anyone want to share how they moved with their pet, where they stayed etc... any particular hotel or something like that.

Thank you
matt
 

steaky

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Nov 11, 2008
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Google websites such as Expedia or tripadvisor.ca for pet friendly hotel in Toronto.

Since being a IHG member, I prefer staying at Holiday Inn. You can also check Kiiji.ca or Craigslist for short term pet friendly apartment.
 
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mattjp1

Hero Member
Jul 23, 2017
549
152
Google websites such as Expedia or tripadvisor.ca for pet friendly hotel in Toronto.

Since being a IHG member, I prefer staying at Holiday Inn. You can also check Kiiji.ca or Craigslist for short term pet friendly apartment.
Thanks for the suggestions, appreciated.

I ended up finding a pet friendly apartment not too far from downtown Toronto and available for 3 weeks. I will start with it but will check the ones you suggested if needed.
 

ajaysd

Newbie
Jun 14, 2018
7
0
Thanks for the suggestions, appreciated.

I ended up finding a pet friendly apartment not too far from downtown Toronto and available for 3 weeks. I will start with it but will check the ones you suggested if needed.
How was your experience Matt? How easy/difficult is it to keep a pet in Toronto when both husband andand w work ? We are planning on bringing our beagle along with us in April 2019.
 

mattjp1

Hero Member
Jul 23, 2017
549
152
How was your experience Matt? How easy/difficult is it to keep a pet in Toronto when both husband andand w work ? We are planning on bringing our beagle along with us in April 2019.
Hi there. Short term accommodation (AiBnB) etc...are expensive with dogs, but that's until you find an apartment - you might want to have a budget for that though.

Toronto is very pet friendly, I was surprised to see people bringing their dogs to shops etc.. pretty cool. My wife and I both work the whole week, but over here a lot of companies offer a day or two of remote work. So technically, our dog stays home alone maybe 3 days max in a week.

The city has several pet friendly buildings/houses so I think you won't have issues finding a place.

Overall it is very fine. What stressed us more was bringing the dog here. In case you are still considering the carrier, I would suggest Lufthansa, they took good care of our dog even though he was very stressed.

Beagle shouldn't have an issue with the cold and Toronto isn't that bad anyway :)
 
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ajaysd

Newbie
Jun 14, 2018
7
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Hi there. Short term accommodation (AiBnB) etc...are expensive with dogs, but that's until you find an apartment - you might want to have a budget for that though.

Toronto is very pet friendly, I was surprised to see people bringing their dogs to shops etc.. pretty cool. My wife and I both work the whole week, but over here a lot of companies offer a day or two of remote work. So technically, our dog stays home alone maybe 3 days max in a week.

The city has several pet friendly buildings/houses so I think you won't have issues finding a place.

Overall it is very fine. What stressed us more was bringing the dog here. In case you are still considering the carrier, I would suggest Lufthansa, they took good care of our dog even though he was very stressed.

Beagle shouldn't have an issue with the cold and Toronto isn't that bad anyway :)
Thanks for the assuring reply..... We also have zeroed down on Lufthansa for the same reason....
One concerning thing that I heard was that if your dog barks/howls while you are away, neighbors might call pet services and they can barge in to your house and take the pet away.... As I have a beagle, she has tendencies to howl every now and then when she's alone.... How true is this thing about pet services.

Secondly, how difficult was it for you to find a place to rent with a dog? And did it cost higher than say other places?
 

mattjp1

Hero Member
Jul 23, 2017
549
152
Thanks for the assuring reply..... We also have zeroed down on Lufthansa for the same reason....
One concerning thing that I heard was that if your dog barks/howls while you are away, neighbors might call pet services and they can barge in to your house and take the pet away.... As I have a beagle, she has tendencies to howl every now and then when she's alone.... How true is this thing about pet services.

Secondly, how difficult was it for you to find a place to rent with a dog? And did it cost higher than say other places?
Not sure about the barking thing. If I'm correct your dog can bark from 7am to 7pm or something like that, before/after that your neighbors can complain. That's what I was told, I am not sure how true this is - you might want to research it - and perhaps it depends on the building or the management company.

Finding a place is not an issue. There are many dog friendly buildings and cost is the same (at least that I could see when I was apartment hunting). I doubt someone can charge you higher for having a pet - someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Be also aware of your rights when renting and owning a dog. The owner of the first place I rented when we landed tried to scam us. Long story short, our dog scratched the door good time and I of course proposed to replace the whole door. The landlord then tried to charge us for several other things in the apartment that we did not even use. Landlord wanted to use our deposit to cover for all these things - which is absolutely illegal (they can only use the deposit to cover for rental months a tenant wouldn't have paid). After I asked the neighbors, the landlord is apparently well known for doing funny things with new comers/tenants who don't know their rights - like I was.

I would suggest you to research about your rights and duties as a tenant/pet owner. If you encounter an issue with your landlord, they are the guys to call: http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/ - in my case I called them, let the landlord know I did and said my next call will be to the police if I don't get my money back + interests (landlord withheld my money without my consent and without paying me interests) in the next two days.

Let me know how it goes and good luck!