A City of Hamilton employee is accusing the mayor of making city hall "inaccessible" to her by bringing his pet dog to work.

Susan Creer, who suffers from allergies and asthma, says Fred Eisenberger is taking advantage of his position by flouting the rules banning pets at city hall.

And she's ramped up her concerns to a human rights complaint.

"I consider this a type of bullying," says Creer.

For the last three years Eisenberger has brought his golden doodle named Dash to work where he's given the run of the mayoral offices, which are glassed off from the rest of the public and private areas on the second floor.

According to Creer, after complaining to her supervisor and discussing the issue with human resources staff, she filed a complaint against Eisenberger with the Ontario Human Rights Commission in March, alleging discrimination and failure to accommodate her needs.

Creer, a part-time instructor in the recreation department, doesn't work at city hall but periodically goes there to attend community meetings.

Besides her allergies, she's also "a little afraid" of dogs. Creer recalls attending a public meeting in late 2017 where a dog was allegedly running loose around the public foyer, intimidating her.

"I found out afterwards that the dog off its leash and scaring the wits out of me was Mayor Fred's dog."

She says her complaint to Eisenberger's office was basically brushed off.

For his part, Eisenberger doesn't recall the incident or Creer's complaint. He notes that Dash, who is three years old now, comes to the office every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. At first when he was puppy, it was for convenience sake. Now Dash is part of the regular office crew.

"There are absolutely no issues and we take great pains to ensure he stays within the confines of our office. He actually uses a door that doesn't require him to go through the lobby."

According to Eisenberger, Dash's presence creates a welcome break from routine and, like other pets, anecdotally has a calming effect on people.

"Certainly Dash is probably the most popular being in the building," he says. "People miss him when he's not here."

That may be, but Creer says the mayor should be setting a good example, not abusing his position to ignore city policy.

"No Pets" signs are clearly posted at city hall's front and back entrances. And earlier this year Creer recalls seeing a security guard prevent an elderly woman from bringing her dogs inside.

Creer has no issue with service dogs that are trained to help people with disabilities. "I realize if it was a service dog, it would be (a question of) competing human rights over what takes precedence."

Creer believes other city staff are frustrated that the mayor is getting away with breaking the rules, but are worried about potential repercussions if they complain.

Be that as it may, Eisenberger notes that prior to the last election, staff was looking into modifying the ban to allow dogs into city buildings. He says that's already informally happening in some city offices and so there's a natural desire to formally change the policy.

Eisenberger doesn't see himself as abusing his position as mayor, though he acknowledges he is bending the rules a bit.

"I don't think I'm being egregious in this process. We're taking great pains to make sure Dash is not a bother to anyone."

Whether the Human Rights Commission takes up Creer's complaint remains to be seen. Ditto whether the city relaxes its no-dogs-allowed policy. If it does, Eisenberger would also like it to include HSR buses.

But wait. If the city is going to relax the rules for dogs, what about cats? why should they be left out in the bureaucratic cold?

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"I think we can start with dogs and see where we go from there," says Eisenberger.

Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com @AndrewDreschel

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