A petition that calls for a beloved Victoria dog to be allowed to sit outside a furniture store without a leash was presented to city council on Thursday.

Cody the Golden Retriever has been sitting on the sidewalk in front of Charmaine’s on Fort Street for the last 13 years.  

The dog is so well-known in the area that he even has his own hours posted on the store’s front door.

In May, Victoria Animal Control issued Cody’s owner with two warnings over the friendly pooch sitting on the sidewalk without a leash.

Ryan Painter has lived in Victoria for just over two years. He started an online petition because he said the situation impacts individuals who live in the community as well as those who visit Victoria.

“It just hit me in the gut as wrong. This isn’t what Victoria is about, we’re a dog-friendly city,” Painter told CTV News.

Painter says although there wasn’t much opportunity for dialogue during the meeting, it felt good to be able to bring the issue before council.

“I feel like I did justice not just to Cody and Charmaine’s, but to the community as well,” Painter said.

The online petition says the situation “is not in any way an indictment of Animal Control” and the warning “was unwarranted.” It calls for Victoria’s mayor and council to allow Cody to return to his post outside the shop during business hours.

“The actions of the Animal Control officer were not reflective of the kind of community we want to present to the world,” Painter said.

According to the Victoria man, people from around the globe have shown support towards the petition. It had 2,087 signatures as of noon on Friday.

Painter says it’s now a waiting game to see if council gets back to him.

“My hope is that there will be follow-up from the mayor and or from the councillors,” he added.

On Friday, Victoria’s mayor said making individual exceptions wouldn’t be fair.

“It is not fair to make bylaw exceptions for one dog, no matter how cute and wonderful,” Lisa Helps noted.

Painter says if he doesn’t hear back in a week, he’ll be contacting councillors individually and may even resort to a letter-writing campaign.