In the Trenches captures the odd and funny incidents that invariably happen in real estate. Here are the stories submitted this month from real estate professionals all over the country. When you're done reading, submit your own story.

November: When Animals Mix with Real Estate

I Thought It Was Your Dog!

During my first year “in the trenches” I was working with a family that included three young, energetic boys. As the boys ran around the home and the yard, a small dog tagged along. The dog played for a few minutes with the kids and then jumped onto the sofa and promptly went to sleep.

I showed the buyers around the home for about 45 minutes longer, and when everyone was ready to go I tried to pick up the dog and put him in the back yard, where I assumed he belonged. But he growled at me and looked irritated at being disturbed, so I left him there on the couch where he looked right at home. I locked up and went on to the next house.

About 5 minutes later, my phone rang. On the other end was an irate lady who lived at the home we just visited. “Whose dog did you leave in my house?” she shouted. All I could say was “Yours?” Obviously, I was wrong! It turned out that the dog belonged to a neighbor one street over.

— Missy Horst, Coldwell Banker Graham & Associates, Madison, Miss.

Cocker Spaniel Cinches the Deal

After completing a listing agreement with new clients, the sellers told me that Suzie, their six-year-old Golden Cocker Spaniel, was going to have trouble parting with the home and adjusting to the new one. You see, Suzie had lived there since she was 8 weeks old and had her run of the house and yard. She had never been on a leash, she went in and out of the house as she pleased, and she was very attached to her favorite spot in the garden. Her life would be very different at the couple’s new home, which was in a community that required animals to be on a leash and with their owner at all times.

My clients said they would like me to tell potential buyers that Suzie is included with the house. Even though I knew it would be a very slim chance that buyers would want the dog, I told the couple that I’d see what I could do. Not long after, a young couple came to see the home while the sellers happened to be there — something I normally discourage. One of the potential buyers told my clients that they had a dog just like Suzie which they had recently had to have put down.

My clients compassionately told the buyers that if they would buy the home, they could have Suzie, too. That may have been just the thing to seal the deal! The young couple made an offer, and Suzie got to stay in her home. Everyone was happy, including Suzie and me.

— Dave Chapman, Landmark Realty Inc., Edwardsville, Ill.

Pot Pelly Pigs Included

A seller I was working with had recently inherited her mother’s home and her menagerie of pets, which included two pot belly pigs named Ham and Spam. The young woman found homes for all of the pets — except, of course, for the two pigs. She wasn’t able to take the animals with her, so she told me that she wanted to leave Ham and Spam at the home so they would have a good life with the new owners.

Meanwhile, I knew a gentleman who was looking for an investment property. After I showed him the home, I told him the catch: If he bought the property, he’d have to take the pigs. He wasn’t very enthused, but he conceded that he could take the pigs to his father’s farm. The seller was happy with that arrangement, and the man bought the house.

After the sale closed, I happened to drive by the home. I spotted the buyer in front of the home using a McDonald’s hamburger to coax the pigs into the back of a U-Haul trailer. Amused, I stopped my car to ask where he was taking his new pets. He mumbled something about a pig roast, and went on his way. To this day, whenever I run into the seller, she asks about Ham and Spam. I just don’t have the heart to tell her!

— Cindy Wine, Century 21 Diversified, Indianapolis

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