Jersey Woman Battles HOA Over Emotional Support Chickens
Let’s go to a South New Jersey neighborhood, where a woman named Lori Smith has been fighting with her HOA to keep her emotional support chickens, and they have been…
GUILDFORD, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 25: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh cuddles rescue chicken ‘Stumpy’ as she visits Mane Chance Sanctuary, a horse rescue charity which aims to rehabilitate abused, abandoned and old horses by integrating them with the local community on September 25, 2024 in Guildford, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)Let's go to a South New Jersey neighborhood, where a woman named Lori Smith has been fighting with her HOA to keep her emotional support chickens, and they have been battling for years. Yes, you're reading that right, but if you have ever had to deal with HOA boards, they can get strict, as they have a lot of rules, including what color your house can be or no cars parked on the street.
According to reports, a judge has just ordered Lori to remove her five emotional support chickens and their backyard coop. She had this to say "I was told by a board member we would be able to have chickens." We needed permission from our immediate neighbors, which we obtained. No issues." She also went on record saying "And, so we obtained our chickens, and about six weeks in I noticed a significant and profound impact in a positive way in my symptoms of PTSD and I just thought this is the greatest thing. This is a miracle, this is wonderful."
Lori did end up hiring a lawyer, and she said "During depositions, opposing counsel was asking Lori, ‘Do you kiss your chickens?’ That kind of shows people aren’t taking this seriously, because it’s chickens, it’s cute. It’s a little funny, it’s a little odd, But, at the end of the day, it’s a very serious thing. There’s plenty of empirical data about U.S. veterans who use chicken keeping as a way of therapy for their PTSD. So, it’s not an uncommon thing to have chickens as part of therapy for PTSD."
Gotts' Thoughts On This
I say if the chickens are making her happy and they are not really bothering anyone, then what's the issue? This is not the craziest thing I've heard of as far as weird animals being emotional support animals, some people have pigs, turkeys, ferrets, goats, donkeys, hedgehogs to even frogs. Do what you need to do to keep yourself happy is what I say, just make sure it's not hurting anyone or yourself and keep it legal.
Thank you for taking the time out to check this story out and as always rocking out with me and 95.9 The Rat. You can get more stories by clicking right HERE. Much LOVE and CHEERS. - Gotts
