When 19-year-old Waco grocery store bagger Jacob Szymanski hunted for apartments earlier this month, he worried about accommodating Katie, his blue heeler/beagle mix.

But finding a Katie-friendly apartment turned out to be easy. He chose Woodhollow Apartments on Lake Shore Drive, where Katie plays each day in the enclosed, shaded dog park.

The days of Waco apartment complexes discouraging pet owners with high deposits and weight restrictions are dwindling, experts said.

Jacob Szymanski, 19, sits on a grassy hill with his blue heeler/beagle mix, Katie, at Woodhollow Apartments on Lake Shore Drive.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Some apartment managers now cater to those with furry roommates — even proudly touting their pet-friendly amenities to draw tenants. Some of these features include dog parks, dog dropping bag stations throughout the complex and no weight restrictions.

Last year’s occupancy rate was a depressing 86 percent, said Deborah Surprenant, association executive at the Heart of Texas Apartment Association.

And she said local complex managers decided to follow the national trend in rentals: concede to four-legged tenants, and their two-legged owners will follow.

It’s hard to say the unconventional mantra did the trick, but Surprenant said occupancy rates this year are back up. Many complexes report no vacancies, and some have wait lists.

“With the economy the way it is, more people have lost their homes and are having to rent,” Surprenant said. “Everyone wants to bring their pets. They’re part of the family.”

Complexes such as the Riviera in China Spring and Pecan Ridge on Lake Shore Drive report that as many as half of their tenants have pets.

“We think it’s great,” said Karen Froehlich, executive director of the Humane Society of Central Texas. “I think complexes are realizing that people who have pets are generally responsible people.”

She has noticed landlords’ more liberal attitudes toward pets evolve during her three years heading the shelter.

“Apartment owners spend more time with their animals because they have to,” Froehlich said. “They can’t just throw their pets in the backyard, so they usually make some of the best pet owners.”

Delicate balance

But complex managers have to strike a delicate balance of appealing to animal lovers while still appealing to tenants who may dread the words “pet-friendly.”

For those tenants, there can be nothing unfriendlier than living in close quarters with some pets.

There’s the tireless puppy who’s persistently yappy; the lazy owner who neglects to clean up after his dog; and the sneeze-inducing hairs left over from the beloved feline of the previous tenant.

“You’re really walking a fine line,” said Daina Peden, manager at Brazos Park Apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. “We try to advertise ourselves as pet-friendly, but we know that is not always a selling point.”

To combat the problem, Peden said many complexes have opted for concrete or hardwood floors rather than carpet to cut down on lingering allergens.

Woodhollow and Pecan Ridge apartments on Lake Shore Drive recently have built dog parks on their respective properties.

That way, dogs expend their energy in an enclosed area. A tired, happy dog won’t yip and yap as much. Dog droppings will be mostly contained to that area. And residents don’t have to worry about being accosted by a rambunctious pup let off his leash and allowed to run free.

Snuggles, a 3-year-old long-haired Chihuahua, leaves the new dog run at Woodhollow Apartments on Lake Shore Drive. Many local apartments are trying to find ways to make their complexes more pet-friendly.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

“At this point, I have more pets living here than residents,” said Bobbi Petrosky, manager at Pecan Ridge. “It’s become a real selling point for us. If it’s between us and another place in town, they’re going to choose us because we have the dog park.”

Tanya Baird, manager at the Riviera Apartments, said she wishes her complex had the room to build such a park. But she has found other ways of following the trend.

“We’ve moved to no weight restrictions,” she said. “You just don’t want to limit your renters to only being able to have one kind of dog.”

Most complexes have breed restrictions against more destructive or agitated pedigrees. Most charge $10 a month in pet rent and require a deposit.

Surprenant said some managers insist on meeting the pets of prospective tenants to judge whether the animal’s behavior is suitable for communal living.

Peden said she fines residents for not picking up pet waste or for violating city leash laws.

“A lot of people’s pets are their families,” Petrosky said. “More complexes have just had to be more accepting. If we don’t realize that, these people are just going to go rent somewhere else.”

equinn@wacotrib.com

757-5748