Fort Lewis family housing rules and guidelines for pets

Before getting a pet, it’s best to know the rules. Equity Residential has several guidelines for pets in Fort Lewis family housing.

For example, pets must be approved prior to residing in post housing. Pets must be registered within five days of arrival and inoculated within two weeks.

Residents may have only two pets in housing. Any additional pets, up to four, require a $250 security deposit each. Dogs, domesticated indoor cats, small caged animals, birds and some fish are allowed. Exotic animals, farm animals and snakes are among those not allowed.

Animals must be on a leash when outside of a fenced yard, said Lt. Rob Rothrock, Fort Lewis Police. Residents must have a fenced yard if they want to have a dog, which can be requested from Equity. If residents want to put build their own fence, Equity must approve it. If the dog is outside in the yard, there must be adequate shelter, food and water.

The most important thing is for residents to keep control of their animals and take good care of them, Rothrock said.

“People, if they want the responsibility of pets, take the responsibility to care for them properly, that’s basically the bottom line,” Rothrock said.

For those times when an animal manages to slip out of the house, Rothrock suggests having pets micro-chipped. It only costs about $20 at the McChord Vet Clinic, he said, and it makes returning a lost pet much easier for Fort Lewis Police.

The rules for pet ownership are in the Equity handbook and Fort Lewis Regulation 210-1. If the rules are violated, Soldiers can be cited. If the rules are violated repeatedly, pet privileges can be revoked and animals can be removed from the home.

“If they follow the rules, what’s in the handbook and 210-1, it would alleviate a lot of problems,” Rothrock said.