After fire, North Vancouver family struggles to find home that will accommodate their dog

A family that escaped a fire that tore through a North Vancouver apartment building is stuck with what seems to be the impossible task of finding a rental home.

Kelly Nichols and her boyfriend recently bought a suite in the building at 357 2nd Avenue East – and also got a puppy, Loki, two months ago.

Nichols acknowledged that she and her boyfriend are lucky because their suite wasn’t damaged nearly as much as some of the others. The couple rented for years before buying a home where they could have a dog. She knows how difficult it can be to find a rental suite as a couple.

“And now with a dog it’s basically hopeless,” she says.

“We’re not sure all the details but we’ve been told to look for long-term accommodation.”

Metro Vancouver has a rental vacancy rate of less than one per cent. And there are no rules when it comes to landlords not allowing pets. The most recent law allows for landlords to collect a pet deposit that can be up to half of a month of rent. But there are many places that don’t allow pets over a certain size, or at all.

READ MORE: Metro Vancouver pet owner demands changes to rental rules

“I don’t understand how landlords can discriminate against pets,” said Nichols. “Some say cats but no dogs of small dogs are okay but not big dogs. Small dogs are often the yappy ones. Our dog is incredibly docile. He hardly barks.”

But even though Nichols is willing to pay two thousand dollars a month for a one bedroom suite that allows big dogs, she says there is nothing out there. A Bernese Mountain dog, Loki will likely grow to be about 100 pounds.

It’s a concern brought to rental advocacy groups all the time.

“We just recently came out with an online course to help people find housing because we’ve been getting so many calls from people who can’t find rentals. In the course we cover things like writing a pet resume,” said Jane Mayfield with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, who says they get calls every day from people who can’t find housing.

But that’s little comfort for Nichols. She is continuing to look for place to rent. “We don’t want to give up Loki. He’s part of our family.”