Thank you very much for responding @Steve-Inwood, @people's choice, and @rosa nazar. I want to write back right away because I'm going away for a few days tomorrow, and will not have time to follow up on these suggestions until next week. But I want to make sure you know I'm listening. Please forgive me for the long posts -- I'm desperate and this forum looks like a great resource.

Steve, you are right that we do not understand co-op politics. I have never owned property in my life, I've always rented apartments. My wife has been counting on inheriting this for a long time, but she shies away from opaque legal jargon and bureaucratic paperwork. My father-in-law does not know a lot about how things work here either. Moreover, his hearing and memory are not so good. According to him, the more questions you ask, the more you'll just tick people off and the less sense anything will make. None of us have lawyers, or know where to find one without getting ripped off. I also have very little to spend -- I'm working on a PhD and teaching part time, and it will be another 2 years before I have a real job.

I will certainly investigate the proprietary lease. I will need to ask my father-in-law about that at the right time, and obtain a copy. However, we all were under the impression that under the circumstances, my wife has a right to succession, and that all she needs to demonstrate is that she's his daughter and has lived here for 2 years. Is this a misconception? I see info on NYC housing sites saying this is the policy for *rent* controlled/stabilized apartments. I would think one's succession rights would be even stronger in the case where the prior tenant *owns* part of the place.

We considered temporarily relocating the dog to appease the management. Unfortunately we have nowhere to send him. More importantly, the demand that we get rid of the dog is clearly not consistent with the policy written in the occupancy agreement, especially since I've done everything I can to make sure it never happens again. I'm beginning to think "ownership material" just means someone who lets people bully them and doesn't fight back, in which case maybe I'm not. I've already told my father-in-law that I would rather move out than see my dog put to sleep over this.

I did ask for a copy of the vet bill, and they delivered it. The other party's name was blacked out. Management will not provide that info no matter what, and wants a check made out to them, saying they'll pass it on. Compared to my experience, and the vet's description of the wound, the bill is about 3 times what it should be, but we haven't even mentioned that. All we're requesting is something official in writing saying what the payment is for, to protect ourselves. Without that, the other dog owners could still sue us and we wouldn't even be able to prove we'd already paid!

But I think a huge point that I was missing before, is the role of the Board of Directors. So far we have had no communication with them, only with the management. As a matter of fact, the people I meet in the building when I'm taking my dog out are extremely fond of the dog, and comment on how well-behaved he is, and I know that some of those people are on the board! I just never knew what that meant. For all I knew they played bingo and organized craft fairs.

So for now, I'm going to work on contacting the board of directors, getting a copy of the proprietary lease, and keeping close documentation of everything that happens. Thank you also Rosa for those links, I will keep that info in mind in case things don't improve.