Dear Editor
Re: One-dog rule has Burnaby woman in a bind, Burnaby NOW, June 1.
First of all I hope things work out for Ms. Cardinal and her beautiful dog. On the same topic, I do have a similar longstanding complaint re: bylaws with apartments and stratas. But my complaint is also that places that actually do allow dogs, most of them advertise “dogs allowed with restrictions.” Well, the restrictions are most often regarding the size of dogs, whereas they only allow dogs up to a certain size. In other words, medium and large dogs are not allowed.
To me, this is discrimination, albeit of animals and their owners. Most people with larger dogs are very responsible, because they are larger dogs, and cannot just be picked up and put in your bag, so they are trained to behave. Larger dogs, in my years of experience, are generally quieter and gentler than many little dogs. I have owned a yellow Lab myself for many years (unfortunately he recently passed after a long happy life), and he was the most lovable dog I have ever known. He actually shied away from little dogs. He never growled, bit or chased another dog or human. He never barked, other than in fun while playing.
I complained to apartment managers about this rule when looking for a place to live with my dog, and they often said that other tenants would be afraid of my dog – ridiculous! No one was ever afraid of my dog. So it is time to change the rules for once and for all, to allow any size of dog, or to allow dogs on individual situations.
Rose Quinlan, by email
