Pet Living: Denmark Opens Apartment Building Made For Dog Owners
Living with pets can be quite rewarding, but looking for an apartment building that allows furry companions can be hard. However, owning a pet has become increasingly more common around the world. As such, the housing industry is faced with a new demographic of customers: pet owners. One apartment building was made specifically with dog owners in mind.
A new apartment building in Denmark just opened that was made with dog owners in mind. As per the Thrillist, the building is called Hundehuset which translates to The Dog House. The building is located in the Frederikssund Municipality in northern Zealand, Denmark. Neils Martin Viuff, the entrepreneur behind the apartment building, reportedly explained to Ritzau, a Dutch media company, that there is a growing demographic for pet owners in the housing industry.
“There is demand from some dog owners who are tired of there being so many places where dogs are not allowed. We want to meet the needs of dog owners. Many are very lonely,” Viuff said.
The Dog House is made to meet the needs of pet owners. The Danish Kennel Klub gave Viuff some advice on some of the features a dog-centric apartment building might need, like tougher flooring and a place to bathe dogs in the garden area of the building. There are 18 units available at The Dog House. There is a catch, however. Viuff said that only dogs weighing just under 100 pounds could live in the apartment building. So owners that have big dogs may need to keep looking. Owners with multiple small dogs are welcomed though.
Viuff’s estimate on a growing demographic for pet owners in the housing industry does not only apply to Denmark. It refers to the United States as well. The American Pet Products Association conducted a 2017-2018 National Pet Owners Survey and discovered that 68 percent of Amercian households have a pet. Millennials make up a big chunk of pet owners at 35 percent, followed by Baby Boomers at 32 percent.
A Danish town is slated to get dog-owner only apartments on a block to be called “Hundehuset” or the Dog House https://t.co/eu2RPLTHwk
— New York Post (@nypost) September 7, 2018
While there isn’t a building quite like Viuff’s Dog House in the United States yet, there is a growing number of pet-friendly apartment buildings in the US. Business Insider notes that the most pet-friendly neighborhood in Manhattan is the Upper East Side with 509 apartment listing available for dog owners. In second and third place are the Upper West Side and Midtown with 329 and 193 listings, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Curb has compiled a list of condos, apartments, and hotels in Washington D.C. that welcome pets and even offer pet-friendly amenities. These residences and hotels may be the closest to Viuff’s Dog House in terms of integrating pet needs. D.C. places like City Market at O Street opened a dog park for pet owners. Some condos, like Camden NoMa, Avalon First, and M, even opened a pet spa.
Pet-friendly apartment buildings may be hard to find, but with a little research and budgeting (if needed), owners can find the perfect home for them. With more and more people open to owning pets, it is almost certain that the housing industry will be more inviting to pet parents.
