Condo board backs down after trying to restrict visitors with service dogs

The board of a Toronto-area condo is reversing course on an order that forced a disabled woman with a service dog to register with the property manager every time she wanted to visit the building, where her mother and sister live. 

Emily Mclennan, who drops by 1515 Lakeshore Rd. E., in Mississauga, Ont., with her service dog Honey about once a week, had told the board through a lawyer last week that the new rules violate the Ontario Human Rights Code, and gave them until Monday to expunge them or face legal action.

Despite the board's reversal on Wednesday, Mclennan says she's skeptical.

"I'll believe when I see it," removed from the condo's rules, the Kitchener, Ont., psychotherapist told CBC Toronto.

The case is a cautionary example for condo boards says Deborah Howden, a condo law specialist at the Toronto law firm Shibley Righton LLP.

"Rules have to be reasonable, as do bylaws," said Howden, who was not involved in this case. "If they are not reasonable, they are not enforceable."

The controversy began earlier this month when the condo board circulated a letter about an updated rule that bans dogs. That bylaw was accompanied by a separate set of rules that said service dogs would be allowed — but only under certain circumstances. 

For starters, any visiting service dog must be registered with the building, and its owner must fill out a second form for each visit. The rules also required a third form to be filled out if the dog and its owner were staying more than 24 hours. 

Mclennan says she took the new orders personally: "This feels like a witch hunt against my service dog," she said.

Mclennan says she developed thrombocytopenia and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — both of which can cause her to suddenly lose consciousness — about two years ago.

Six months later she got Honey, a specially trained labradoodle mix that begins to shake when she senses Mclennan is about to black out.

But soon after, she says, building residents began making her feel uneasy during visits.

"I've had neighbours follow me out and take pictures of me with my dog," she said. "I feel spied on when I'm here."

The new rules, announced Dec. 10, made the situation worse, Mclennan says.