The owner of a Long Island, New York senior housing development has agreed to pay a settlement of $58,750 to the surviving husband of a woman who died soon after the landlord refused to make an exception to its no-pets policy to allow her to keep her dog, which her doctors said she needed for her mental and physical health.

The woman suffered from severe respiratory problems, depression, anxiety, cirrhosis, diabetes and decreased vision and hearing. In August 2006, she obtained her miniature schnauzer, Mikey, when she was very frail, was on oxygen twenty-four hours a day and was unable to leave her home without an ambulance.

In September 2006, the landlord began demanding that she get rid of Mikey and pay fees with interest for harboring the dog. Her family tried to explain that the dog was necessary for her mental and physical health. Four different letters from her doctors stated the dog helped her depression and anxiety, and by extension her physical ailments. However, the landlord continued to demand that the dog be removed, threatening eviction if it was not removed. In September 2007, she finally sent the dog to live with a family member.

The dog’s removal from their home caused her great emotional distress and aggravated her already extremely poor health. She died on Oct. 18, 2007, at the age of 74, about one month after she lost the dog. Even after her death, the landlord continued to threaten her husband with eviction if he did not pay legal fees, fines and interest. He eventually paid more than $2,000 to the landlord.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office sued the owner last February, accusing it of violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to make an exception to its no-pets policy. Under the Act, individuals with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations, including the right, where appropriate, to have a comfort animal reside with them.

If you or someone you know has questions regarding a situation such as this, contact the Law Office of Friedman & Ranzenhofer at 585-484-7432 for a legal consultation.