The city just didn’t suit Nina. The gentle, 9-year-old cocker spaniel never warmed to the noise, fast pace or legion of strangers, despite being a born-and-bred New Yorker. She would quake beneath her owners’ legs, hiding from cars, skateboards and even other dogs.
“She was always shaking,” recalls her owner, Marco Pedde, 39, of Carroll Gardens. “But anytime we went out of the city, to upstate or wherever, she would become a dog . . . Whenever we crossed the Washington Bridge, her tail would wag.”
While New Yorkers love their pets, city life just doesn’t suit some dogs and cats. Apartments are cramped, outdoor space is limited and owners work, and play, long hours.
Some pet owners find that the best solution for their animals — and themselves — is sending their beloved dog or cat to live with a friend or relative outside of the city.
“Not everyone is made to be a New Yorker,” says Dr. E’Lise Christensen, a veterinary behaviorist, who says she’s seen troubled animal clients “blossom” after relocating outside of the city.
Cat owner Jane Timm, 25, sent her two cats, Abby and Ellie, to live with her mother in Connecticut because living together in her tiny Upper East Side apartment was too stressful for both her and the tabbies.
“The math of two cats, one 350-square-foot apartment and one allergic boyfriend wasn’t adding up,” says Timm. “By Friday, my house would be trashed.”
Everyone seems happier now that Abby and Ellie are with Grandma. Timm’s mother, Melinda Luke, 58, has a house in Bridgewater, and the cats’ shedding is less of an issue in the spacious confines.We miss her, but we know we made her happy. She liked to be in nature. I understand that.
- Marco Pedde, a Brooklyn resident who gave his dog up
The two tabbies, both 13, are enjoying views of local birds in their retirement, instead of Second Avenue traffic.
“I think it’s good for them to have the space to roam around and less stimulation,” says Luke. “It’s quieter here so maybe it’s more conducive to their old age.”
After what she went through with the cats, Timm says she’s cautious about getting another pet.
“Now my boyfriend wants a dog, but based on our crazy work schedules I don’t think we can do it,” she says. “Our dog walker would probably spend more time with it than we would. It would feel irresponsible.”
But Christensen notes that the suburbs or country aren’t always superior environments for pets, especially dogs.
“Dogs in the city often enjoy more exercise and socialization,” she says, though she adds that “for some dogs, that busyness or constant interactions aren’t good.”
That was certainly true for Nina. After Pedde and his wife, Martina Ferrari, had a baby, they had even less space for the spaniel. Feeling guilty about the situation, they gave her to a family friend who lives in Harwood, Md.
The dog now enjoys romping around 15,000 square feet. Nina relishes the space and, apparently, the proximity to nature. The first thing she does when hitting one of the nearby nature trails is rub her ears in the plentiful deer-poop piles, relates new owner Jeff Cox, 50. She greets the family’s kids, 11-year-old Dylan and 13-year-old Jordan, at the door after each school day. “She’s not left out of anything. She comes with us everywhere,” says Cox.
As for Pedde, he believes he and his wife made the right choice giving Nina up, though the decision was a difficult one.
“We miss her, but we know we made her happy,” he says. “She liked to be in nature. I understand that.”