Dogs were not allowed in my apartment when I adopted Sharav, so I came up with the most convoluted lie to get away with it: I told the property manager that Sharav had belonged to my “friend,” but then my “friend” had to leave the country for some urgent business on short notice, so I was watching Sharav for just a short time, like a few weeks… or maybe months. The guy was really skeptical, and was definitely not a fan of letting a dog live in his building.
Some time later, the landlord herself was visiting on a rare trip from abroad and saw us together, exclaiming, “I love dogs! Yours is so beautiful and well trained!” And that’s how Sharav officially got to stay.
(I never lied about having a dog when renting our subsequent six apartments.)
A rare moment of calm at home. Tel Aviv, May 2007. Click any photo to see more.