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When Kim Hood left 100 Mile House for the Lower Mainland to help her aging parents, she didn't expect it to be easy. But neither did she expect she might be homeless.
Hood, who has been apartment-hunting for six months, has good credit, glowing references and a stable job at a retail hardware store.
But, being partially blind, she has an assistance dog. And Jenna the three-year-old golden retriever is the reason more than 40 landlords have rejected Hood as a tenant.
Kim Hood combs through newspaper ads for a pet-friendly apartment as her cat, Jonesy, adds encouragement.
Jon Murray - The Province
"Never in a million years did I think this would happen," said a frustrated Hood, who, out of desperation, has expanded her search from the Tri-Cities, where she works, to Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Burnaby. She's willing to pay up to $900 in rent.
"I'm a landlord, too. I rent my house out in 100 Mile House and I have a wonderful tenant with a dog and cat. It never occurred to me that people have such issues with animals."
Jenna isn't a pet, she's a necessity, said Hood, 50, who has been grappling in the dark -- literally -- without her dog, now in the care of a friend in 100 Mile House.
Hood was diagnosed with low vision after a stroke about 20 years ago. She "sees the world as if through a colander" and struggles with blind spots and night vision.
She acquired her first assistance dog 15 years ago, and Jenna three years ago. She trained the docile dog to fetch things she can't see, help her open doors, guide her at night, and get help when necessary.
Hood's plan was to stay in the Lower Mainland for two years to help her ailing 84-year-old father and to relieve the pressure on her 69-year-old stepmom, who has twice had to call search-and-rescue after he wandered away. "They've been quiet and proud about it," said Hood. "But in all good conscience I can't just abandon them."
Hood is staying with her mom in Port Coquitlam, but the building's strata council forbids dogs. She can't stay at her dad's place in Chilliwack because of age limits on his unit.
Richard Marion, president of the Vancouver chapter of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, said it's against the law for landlords to refuse a tenant because they have guide or assistance dogs.
"If she can prove the dog is necessary to accommodate her disability, the landlord is definitely violating her rights, for sure," he said.
While provincial legislation does not specifically address self-trained dogs, he believes Hood's disability would qualify her for protection under the Guide Animal Act and the B.C. Human Rights Act.
He encouraged Hood to consult a human-rights lawyer -- which she has been reluctant to do.
"You try to be as independent as you can, solve your problems and don't use public resources," she said. "I've worked my whole life, and to be in this situation where I have to beg, it's just really difficult."
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