CFN – For Amanda Stevenson and her mom Karen it was a shocker Monday night coming back to Amanda’s apartment on Montreal Road in Cornwall Ontario.
All was quiet, and Biscuit, the dog Amanda has owned for over 9 years was gone. After a frantic search she found a note on her table from her landlord, one Wolfe Vracar, stating that he had taken the dog.
I received a complaint regarding your dog making noise again!!! I told you the dog has to go! You can’t leave the dog alone!!
The women were stunned and a call to Cornwall police led to Mr. Vracar phoning the Stevensons.
I spoke with Mr. Vracar’s wife Judy today who said that the dog was well taken care of; given food, water, and treats and was quite happy with her for the night. The Vracar’s have a horse farm with many pets. Judy said she and her husband were concerned that the animal wasn’t being cared for, and that a call to authorities stated that as long as the dog had food and water there wasn’t anything they could do.
Judy also said she was concerned that if the OSPCA had taken the dog they might have put it down as it’s old and quite lame.
A dog of Biscuits size and age would be approximately 70-80 years old in human years.
Calls to Bonnie Bishop of the OSPCA had not been returned as of Press time.
This morning Mr. Vracar turned Biscuit over to Karen, his tenants mother; but not before allegedly refusing to turn the dog over until Ms Stevenson signed a document stating that Biscuit is not to return to his building.
What do you think Cornwall? You can post your comment below.
I am appalled that he could have the right to enter the tenants apartment and remove the animal. I would have been livid.
A dog, is a family member, Taking a dog in someones residence is just wrong, then to make some one to sign a note, is a form of black mail. Pathetic, the landlord had no right entering the premises, and should be held accountable.
for one he cantenter her house without notice or only for emergency n a barking dog is not an emergency. I would have him charged with unlawful entery n theif as he stole her dog and basically held it for ransom by not giving the dog back unless she signs the paper. this isnt right n should be dealt with by police
That would be break and enter (even if the landlord has keys, they were unannounced) and removal of property (theft), being the animal. And where is the 24 hrs notice before entering? He could have reached the tenant or had the police or someone come to supervise what was being done. If any landlord entered my place without prior consent, and took anything of mine, I would be livid as well and would be immediately contacting the police. Also, making the tenant’s mother sign that paper in exchange to get the dog back would be forcing her to sign said paper under duress meaning that it is null and void.
If this landlord has done this at this point to said tenant, and to remove a dog (which could be considered security as well to thwart unwanted people from entering said premises while the tenants are away), could they have done this before or possibly intend on doing it in the future? Just wrong.
did he give you any written notices about the complaints? did he ask permission to enter your apartment? He removed property from your dwelling, that is theft under $5000. Has he told you what the complaints were from whoever gave them? and why did they call him and not report complaints to the spca? He cannot refuse you to have a dog, he can ask you to move if there are complaints but you have to have written notice or overcome the complaints.
The document won’t be able to be enforced in a court of law anyways, it was signed under duress… He broke the law and they should press charges.
A landlord sure can enter if there is an emergency or something like that. Back in the mid seventies in this very same apartment (here in Ottawa) that I am living in the landlord entered my apartment with his superintendent then because there was a leak in the roof and he moved my bedroom nightstand and he left us a note. A landlord can enter if they feel that there is probable cause.
At another building that we lived in a little further away from here there was a terrible smell coming from one of the apartments on another floor. The super knocked many times on the tenants door and nobody responded so he went in and he found the woman dead and decomposing. Yes a landlord or his agent can enter if there is good cause.
Fossoli/Cornwall is very backward and behind civilization and you all need to get up to date. The dog was disturbing other people and the landlord had complaints and the next thing that the owner will do is to put you out and he can do that anytime he wants. We as a civilized tenants here in Ottawa have a wonderful landlord and wonderful superintendents and I stick up for both of them and we went through hell on earth in Cornwall and that mistake will never ever be repeated ever again as long as we are alive or dead.
Just because the dog was annoying ppl didn’t give the landlord the right to enter if she had valid concerns she should have contacted the police department. Also this landlord has crossed the line she should be charged with break and enter as this was not an emergency … but more a nuisance . She should do her research there is a no fury law in Ontario and if the animal is not a controlled breed or a danger to other tenants she cant just remove them the animal or evict these ppl from there home I hope this landlord finds herself in COURT!
Jules,
Once again you are wrong,
ENTRY WITHOUT NOTICE
Section 26 provides that a landlord may enter the rental unit without notice:
• in cases of emergency;
• If the tenant consents to the landlord entering the unit at the time the landlord enters;
• where the tenancy agreement requires the landlord to clean the rental unit at regular intervals, the landlord may enter at the times specified in the agreement, or, if no times are specified, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and
• if the landlord and the tenant have agreed the tenancy will be terminated or one of them has given notice of termination to the other, the landlord may enter the unit to show it to prospective tenants between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and, before entering, the landlord informs or makes a reasonable effort to inform the tenant of the landlord’s intention to enter. A landlord must make reasonable efforts, depending upon the facts and circumstances of each case, to give the tenant advance notice in order to permit the tenant to be prepared for entry into the unit by the landlord to show the unit to prospective tenants.
A landlord may not enter the rental unit without notice to perform repairs even where the tenant has requested the repairs unless the landlord obtains the tenant’s consent to enter the unit at the time the landlord goes to the unit to make the repairs.
This is from the Land Lord Tenant act
It clearly states the reasons a landlord may enter a dwelling..
I will take it one step further for you and lay out the ONLY reasons a Landlord or his Agent may ever enter
ENTRY WITH NOTICE
Section 27 provides that a landlord may enter a rental unit in accordance with written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry in the following circumstances:
• to carry out a repair or replacement or to do work in the unit;
• to allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the residential complex to view the rental unit;
• to allow a person who holds a certificate of authorization within the meaning of the Professional Engineers Act or a certificate of practice within the meaning of the Architects Act or another qualified person to make a physical inspection of the rental unit to satisfy a requirement imposed under subsection 9 (4) of the Condominium Act, 1998;
• to carry out an inspection of the rental unit, if,
(i) the inspection is for the purpose of determining whether or not or not the rental unit is in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and complies with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards, consistent with the landlord’s obligations under subsection 20(1) or section 161 of the RTA; and
(ii) it is reasonable to carry out the inspection.
• for any other reasonable reason for entry set out in the tenancy agreement.
In addition, s. 27(2) of the RTA provides that the landlord, or, with the landlord’s written authorization, a broker or salesperson registered under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002, may enter a rental unit provided that they have given written notice to the tenant at least 24 hours before they enter to allow a potential purchaser to view the unit.
In any case where at least 24 hours written notice has been given to the tenant, the written notice must set out:
In all other cases a Landlord/Agent must call police
Fossoli/Cornwall is very backward and behind civilization, Well your thinking would have me second guessing a landlord.. I think it is you who is Backward….
That landlord should be charged ..unreal how do u enter someones home and steal a dog? He needs to be charged,he is very lucky it was not me because I would have strangled him until he told me where my dog was,my dog is family….I hope they go after him ….he is an idiot !!
I agree with you in many ways any Landlord is not allowed to enter without permission as well to do as he did. Mind you in fairness a big dog should not have to suffer living in a small apartment its cruelty to animals. A small dog yes but big dog no mind you i sympathise with you because i know how you feel been there done that and i later realize what was best for our dog.
Who said the dog was suffering ?? How do we know she was only gone for an hour ?? Irregardless if it were 500sq ft apartment or a 2000 sq ft home, people with dogs still go to work…
If it had been my landlord I would of pressed the officers in charge to Charge him with break and enter, Theft under and what ever else I could think of.
Dogs can have separation anxieties. Persistent barking is reason enough for a complaint to be made. Since former complaint(s) had already been made attention by the landlord would be in order, however, he could have first made an attempt to find the tenants so they could correct the situation.
He could also have called the By-law office or the OSPCA for follow-up idea’s or perhaps even the police.
It was incumbent upon the tenant to ensure peace and stable environment was in place for their dog. A dog sitter pay or friend to trade favors with would have saved the angst of neighbors and others.
Leaving the dog in an uncomfortable situation such as a small apartment that may also have been very warm, not quit like a car in the hot sun for long periods of time was wrong.
In apartments a lot of tenants have different work environments such as working nights. It would e unfair to expect ‘everybodyelse’ to accept a noisy TV, barking dog, loud music, at any time, let alone willy nilly so you can run out for your day and to hell with your dogs needs as well as your neighbors.
Thoughtless and senseless act on your part.
Thank goodness, though access may be an issue, but at least it was the landlord with enough kindness to leave a note and take good care of your dog in an environment more to his needs.
I think you became over emotional and once the note was read you did not have to resort to going to the media to soothe your anger.
You made a mountain out of a mole hill once you saw the kindness rather than the invasion of your privacy. Your luck a neighbor didn’t break down your dog to help an animal in distress………..the same as YOU would break a car window to rescue such an animal.
Wake up, accept the major part. take responsibility in advance and do the right thing. You likely bolted out totally mindless to satisfy your own silly little time with a daughter you see and talk to all the time. Grow up.
He clearly overstepped his boundaries. He didn’t have the right to go in and definitely didn’t have the right to remove anything that belongs to that family.
Press charges!
Biscuit is so well taken care of and loved by Amanda and her family. I am outraged that this happened. Imagine the stress the landlord caused that poor dog 🙁 He had no right going into her apartment.
Wolfe needs to understand that he committed a “Break & Enter”, a “Theft under $5000”, “Kidnapping of the dog”, “Illegal Transportation of the dog” and “Endangering the Health of said dog by feeding it strange foods”. Amanda and Karen please have this man charged criminally and sue him civilly in court. Your lawyer can advise you. Another thing Wolfe: you need to know that any lease drawn-up that prohibits dogs (pets) is deemed Null & Void by the Government of Ontario. You cannot stop someone from having pets!
WHAT about Biscuit.
Ya ‘WHAT’. Typical ‘my rights’ issue. You are talking about human rights. Selfish, thoughtless act to NOT consider WHAT the dogs environment would be.
The landlord, who I do not know, was a hero in this case and all else, like ‘tenant’ privacy was thrown out the window by the tenant when she left without assuring adequate management of her charge…Biscuit the dog.
Seems all attention is on the ‘poor me’ tenant and damn the landlord by throwing the privacy act at him.
WHAT, you are not talking about the ‘dogs’ rights. Animals, in particular, those so close to their care givers who are left alone with out another human or even a buddy pet ‘lose it’ and get antsy with all the out side noises…maybe even fearful. Many will howel and even be destructive. I’ve seen them go through walls…something landlords love.
WHAT was the landlord to do…police wouldn’t respond because they are too busy. Firemen may, but really, it is not their job. These poor guys even get calls to take ladder up a tree to rescue wayward cats for heavens sake.
Without knowing how much longer (remember), BISCUIT would be left in distress; with upset ‘other tenants’ on his case, this poor man saw that ‘he’ was the logical choice to go in to ‘rescue poor Biscuit who probably licked him with loving kiss’s.
Get past the fact of entry….as we all know now intent was NOT to steal or cause untold damage or inappropriate invasion of privacy. We get hung up on this to deflect our own irresponsible act(s).
Get over all this nonsense/crap.
The landlord tenancy act should be re-written to allow for such negligence management in a most appropriate way……..as he did.
Send him flowers and notes of thanks. All the other tenants should get together and award him a bag of ‘Biscuit Hero Cookies’ instead of chastising him.
This situation ended well. If I were a judge in a court, I would chose to overlook the entry with keyed access after knocking (no doubt) and reverse the charges to ‘tenant negligence’ and assess all court costs to the tenant, disallow animals in her care for 5 years and fine her about $600.00 on top of all the other.
Remember that with dogs, a buddy system is very important..in fact, a must. If you can not manage this, you can not have an animal, in particular a ‘large’, adorable, loving Biscuit coped up in a humid small apartment. Dogs don’t LIVE in dog houses. They need water, food, walks and never ending consideration with love. If you can not devote that, YOU DO NOT DESERVE ONE.
Diddlysquat, you have no clue
Karen Stevenson…….no c lues were given. Only fairy tales.
Why is it okay to leave a dog howl and then dump on the person that had the capacity to correct the situation on behalf of all his/her other tenants, albeit on a temporary basis.
Sure made the complainant(s) happy…but then, who gives a damn about that? If you think the complaint was a revenge thing or that he/she was a jerk….well look in the mirror…this was not your first time.
Dogs have been my passion for most of my life. Even Jamie takes care of his dogs…..that is likely why he has more than one…companionship, for when he is away, and of course for himself when he is home.
Everyone’s comments are too emotional, even when stating their literal interpretation of the Landlord and Tenant Act (primarily a guide in place of commonsense).
Take responsibility for your actions and inaction’s, period. You guys messed up and you want everyone else to feel sorry for it…. deflect the blame.
I’m sorry for your frightfulness initially, I really am. I understand. In the end all worked out so get rid of the attitude, wise up next time.
Diddlysquat, you said “The landlord, who I do not know,” You are pretty defensive writing about someone you don’t know. I call a bluff here. I am a huge animal rights activist and I know the family and Biscuit. He has never been neglected and if he was I would be the first to report it! A daughter has her childhood dog over and leaves her apartment for a little while and now people are acting like she neglected her dog? This is why people like you should mind your own business because it’s not your business!
‘theotheramanda’
Thanks for your ‘professional opinion and defense of someone you know. How kind of you.
Regarding the landlord, I really do not know him/her or Amanda.
I read the situation for what it was and truly felt a lack of responsibility on Amanda’a part.
The landlord was totally under attack, which I felt was somewhat unfair. My intent was to balance the arguements and show compassion for ‘the other side’.
Much of my contention was to show the young impressionable young lady a bit of tough love. Yes, I do believe she is a kindred spirit if you will with her dog Biscuit. I too have experienced this over the years.
Amanda made a mistake. Don’t tell me that if a dog was in danger, or any animal for that matter, say in a locked car that YOU would not trespass the car to rescue the dog. Damn straight you would.
Further to that, sir.madame, Biscuit was annoying in a persistent manner. You can not expect a tenancy complex to accept the situation without a complaint to who else but the landlord, who yes, took matters into their own hands yet somehow managed a kindness to it by offering food and comfort.
would come to Amanda’s defense if so much crap wasn’t spewed in one direction. That is/was apparently not necessary.
I completely agree with you Diddlysquat. This morning I was in Cornwall/Fossoli and I just came home. I saw some dogs at Lamoureux Park with their owners on a leash having a nice good walk and well behaved. One has to walk their dog and give it food and water and the animal will be happy. You cannot enclose a dog in an apartment and expect that it is going to stay quiet all day without going out to enjoy his/her walk. I spoke a tiny bit to its owners and good and polite people unlike some people who come on CFN and make a big thing out of Biscuit the Dog. I love dogs very much and prefer them to a lot of humans and I can sit with them all day and enjoy my time with them.
Dogs do not belong in apartments all shut in. I know as a human it is hard to live all caged up in these bird cages in the sky (highrise bldg.) so how is an animal going to find living in a small apartment. There are many landlords who do not want those animals and for very good reasons. Humans are more than enough for others to bear with let alone a barking dog. Our building here in Ottawa has never accepted dogs even when the building was new in the 70’s era and under different ownership. I don’t blame the landlord at all for what he did and he had a right to do what he did. I stick up for the landlord and he took good care of Biscuit. Even another building down the ways that we lived in on another street did not accept dogs. Dogs belong in a house where they can go out for fresh air and not caged in. My good wishes towards the landlord and to Biscuit.
wow , if my landlord entered my place in a non emergency situation and also took something and left proof such as the note I would definately have him charged !! Our pets are part of the family , I would be devasted to not have mine with me , what if the landlord abused the dog in some way , you never no .. As far as you sighning that paper I cannot imagine that it is legal and binding as you do not own this dog , I think your daughter would have had to be given a written notice prior to you signing stating that she was in agreement with this !! Please stand up for your family and others and don’t let this man get away with this horrible act , such an invasion of privacy that could be continuing .
Better the landlord than an angry neighbor busting the door down.
This young lady needs to watch .The Dog Whisperer(because it’s free) to help her teach her dog how to settle in when she is away.
It takes time to train a dog with building up times away. Trust takes time for Biscuit to accept longer and longer periods of away times for Amanda. Anything from an hour away to an 9 hour day to and from work.
Finding a way to limit outside and distracting noises (kids at play, talking, cars going by, whatever). One way is to leave the TV on just about any channel…perhaps a soothing music channel could help relive his anxiety.
WHAT HAPPENED IS UNFORTUNATE. The end results were….Amanda and mom in a tissy and all there friends ganging up on the landlord and anyone else who saw it as the right action. You overlooked the heroic rescue to sooth Biscuits barking issue and the complainant being pissed due to the noise.
My heavens, if there was a fire, a baby, a flood, do you not think a landlord at the very least ‘anybody’ would go in one way or the other to correct the situation as fast and as best as they could?
Police, fire, ambulance calls have more lea-way than you think, and NO, THIS WAS NOT AN EMERGENCY…but the burgler mentality surely can tone down a peg or two, now that it is over.
Amanda, mom and baby boy, 9 yr old Biscuit( there baby at any age) are settling in. Get over it and move on.
By the way, whether we like it or not, privacy laws in this country are changing dramatically. At this point the reasons here may not be a part of the current changes underway, however, it may bode towards leniency when all the facts are out if it were taken to court, not to mention a few thousand dollars on all sides……unless of course you expect to use free legals through our over abused social services.
Just going to court because we want ‘revenge’ or to ‘teach a lesson’ taking testosterone up a notch is a total waste of everyone’s time. People go to court at the drop of a hat, when all it would take is for each of the parties to get together and ask ‘and’ give forgiveness.
Go in peace.