Insurers reject dog owners

Losing your insurance because of your dog's breed? You are not alone. All across the United States, thousands of homeowners and renters with dogs have received or will be receiving cancellation notices from their insurance companies. Most of these dog owners are in disbelief. Their lifelong companion pooch that doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body has been breed-profiled by the longtime family insurance company and is now doomed. This includes rescue dogs, show dogs, ambulatory and elderly dogs, well-trained dogs, puppies and more. Basically, the message is to get rid of your family pet or lose your homeowners or renters liability insurance. Of course, if that happens, it is almost impossible to get any insurance at all, and without it, you could lose your house or get an eviction notice from the landlord. I receive dozens of messages like the following every week.

"We are in the process of purchasing another home, and our existing agent stated that they are no longer insuring homes that have any one of the seven identified breeds, which includes the Rottweiler. We have had Erie Insurance for both home and car for 20 plus years. We also just got off the phone with Hartford, and it stated the same. Our choice is not to buy the home or to get rid of the dog. In either case, we are being told, if you want home insurance, the dog must go. How can they do this?" — Lower Burrell, Pa.

"I have two Dobermans (18 months old and 5 years old) that have no bite history. I need insurance. My landlady is going to evict me if I don't get it." — Indiatlantic, Fla.

"I have two husky mixes and a small dog. When I applied for insurance, I was told by Allstate that it could not insure me because of my pets . . . I was told that was the way it is in Virginia — to deny coverage to people who had pets on the deny lists. My huskies would let you rob me blind and lick you to death at the same time." — Yorktown, Va.

That is just a tiny glimpse into the world of breed discrimination by insurance companies that maintain do-not-insure lists. Although, after 30 years training dogs and working with aggressive dog behavior, I have found that aggression is not breed specific. There are dangerous dogs in every breed. Take, for example, the Pomeranian that killed an infant in Los Angeles. And there are reliable, sweet, nonagressive non-aggressive dogs in every breed. Do you know that there are American Staffordshire Terriers (often referred to as pit bulls) that are trustworthy rescue dogs and therapy dogs?