A Burnaby man will get to keep a Great Dane in his 10th-floor apartment even though he owned a Yorkshire Terrier when he first got an exemption from his strata's no-dogs bylaw, thanks to a Civil Resolution Tribunal ruling this week.
The strata at the Grand Corniche II in Metrotown granted owner Lawrence Lee a bylaw exemption in June 2021 allowing him to keep a dog in his apartment, according to the ruling Tuesday.
The exemption was based on a doctor's note that said Lee would benefit from a companion animal, the ruling said.
At the time, Lee and his tenant Cindy Lajoie Laframboise owned a Yorkshire terrier.
In May 2022, however, they informed the strata they had adopted a second dog, a Great Dane, which they said was a service dog.
The strata denied their request for a second dog and told Lee and Laframboise to remove it.
When they didn't, the strata began fining them $100 a week for bylaw violations.
The fines continued after the Yorkie died a couple months later, with the strata saying Lee and Laframboise couldn't keep the Great Dane even if they now only had one dog.
By the time the case got to the CRT, the fines totalled $1,800.
The strata told the tribunal it had granted the bylaw exemption for Lee to keep "one companion dog or similar-sized replacement."
But tribunal member Garth Cambrey noted that's not what the original June 2021 letter from the strata had said.
"The June 2021 letter simply stated the strata granted Mr. Lee an exemption to 'allow (him) to keep a dog in (his unit),'" Cambrey said in his ruling.
The strata didn't reference the size of any permitted dog until later, he said.
Cambrey did not accept the Great Dane was a service dog, noting it was not certified by the Registrar of Guide Dogs and Service Dogs.
But he did accept it was a companion or support animal required for medical reasons.
Cambrey said the strata had accepted Lee had a disability and needed a support dog when it granted him the bylaw exemption in 2021.
Cambrey ruled that exemption constituted an accommodation under the Human Rights Code.
And, since a doctor's noted in March 2023 confirmed Lee's situation hadn't changed, his need for a companion animal was also unchanged.
The strata argued it had a reasonable justification for not allowing the Great Dane in the building, since neighbours had complained about "excessive barking," and the dog was aggressive.
It had jumped on one person and bitten another last September, according to the ruling.
But Cambrey said the number of barking complaints in evidence did not constitute excessive barking and the Great Dane's behaviour had improved, with no reported incidents since last October.
Cambrey dismissed the strata's request for the dog to be removed and granted Laframboise and Lee's request that it be allowed.
"Since my reasons are based on Mr. Lee's disability, I find the Great Dane may remain in (the unit) for as long as Mr. Lee resides there," Cambrey said.
Although Laframboise had also provided doctors' notes, Cambrey said they did not confirm her need for a support animal.
Cambrey ordered the strata to reverse all but $800 of the bylaw fines it had charged.
He ruled Laframboise and Lee were responsible for $800 in fines for the time they had both the Yorkie and Great Dane in their apartment because the strata had never agreed to two dogs.
But he ordered the strata to pay Laframboise's and Lee’s $120 tribunal fee and $72.82 in prejudgment interest.
All the other claims in the case were dismissed.
The CRT is an online, quasi-judicial tribunal that hears strata property disputes and small claims cases.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
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