Mere Emotional Attachment to a Dog Does Not Create an Emotional Support Animal

by Deborah Howden

The Condominium Authority Tribunal continues to find that residents who keep animals at a condominium property in contravention of the corporation’s declaration or rules must provide adequate medical proof of a disability-related need for the animal, unless such need is obvious.

In a recent case, the condominium corporation had a rule prohibiting dogs over 9 kg (i.e., 20 lbs). The issue was whether a resident with an overweight German Shepherd was entitled to an accommodation because of disability under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

To support her request for accommodation, the resident submitted the following medical note: 

This patient is suffering from chronic medical conditions that require the use of a service dog, daisy. She has been using Daisy since 2018 for these conditions.

Though requested, the resident refused to provide any additional medical documentation respecting her accommodation request.  In addition, she did not participate in the Tribunal hearing.

The Tribunal ultimately rejected the medical note on the basis that i) it did not disclose a disability and ii) the resident did not establish a disability-related need for an exception to the weight restriction rule.  The Tribunal also found that the dog was aggressive and was therefore a nuisance.  

The Tribunal said this on the issue of proving a disability-related need for an exception to the oversized-dog rule: 

The available evidence does not support that the Respondent has disability-related needs that require her to have a dog that weighs more than 9 kilograms. While it can be inferred that the Respondent has a strong attachment to her dog, this itself is not sufficient to require an accommodation under the Code.

The case serves as a good reminder that a request for accommodation creates obligations on both the condominium corporation and the person seeking accommodation.  Specifically, the person seeking accommodation must engage in the accommodation process by, at a very minimum, providing adequate medical documentation to establish a disability and a corresponding need (as opposed to a personal preference) for accommodation. A strong attachment to a pet, without more, does not create an accommodation obligation on the part of the condominium corporation.