This article was published previously on CambridgeToday.
The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has concluded National Service Dogs did not discriminate when it removed one of its dogs from a home because it had "gained substantial weight" and suffered health issues while in the care of a family with an autistic girl.
Adjudicator Romona Gananathan came to the decision recently, two years after Sammy the service dog was taken from the Mississauga home where he'd been living as a companion animal since 2018.
When Sammy entered the home, he was 83 pounds.
The dog was 129 pounds at his peak weight in 2019.
That was when National Service Dogs staff intervened to begin to try to work with the family to reduce the dog's weight.
The tribunal said the Cambridge-based organization's eventual decision to remove its dog from the home was "reasonable after several years of engaging" with the family to properly feed, arrange play dates and walk Sammy.
"It is critical that Sammy gets his body moving," the organization wrote in a letter to the family in the weeks before the dog was removed from the home.
Lack of funds prevented the family from hiring a dog walker, so National Service Dogs urged them to find a high school student who could walk the dog to earn volunteer hours.
Soon after the dog was taken, the family alleged discrimination "because of disability" contrary to the Human Rights Code.
National Service Dogs gave testimony that it asked the family repeatedly to feed Sammy properly and give the dog exercise.
When the dog appeared to lose weight suddenly as a result of changes to his diet, developed hip and shoulder injuries and a degenerative condition of its spine, the organization removed the dog in March 2022 for the welfare of the animal.
"Based on the totality of the evidence, I find that the applicant’s disability was not a factor in the respondent’s decision to remove the dog from the family home," wrote Gananathan in her decision.
"I find that the family was unable to walk the dog or exercise it consistently."
"They were unable or unwilling to pay for a dog walker or accept the respondent’s offers to attend play dates or have a high school student walk the dog, and ultimately, the applicant’s family withdrew from the accommodation process by ceasing communication with" National Service Dogs.
In its complaint to the tribunal, the family also alleged the organization removed the dog without any notice or alternative supports in place, and failed to accommodate the girl with ASD.
Despite doctor testimony to the contrary, the tribunal concluded the service dog was not "an essential accommodation" for the family and dismissed their application.
Within a month of Sammy's removal from the home, the dog had lost 7.5 lbs and was working toward a goal to get back to a normal weight.
Due to repetitive stress injuries from the added weight, the decision was made to retire the dog from service.
