All his life, Cody the Golden Retriever has been a fixture outside of a downtown Victoria furniture store.

The friendly pooch is often seen lounging on the sidewalk outside of Charmaine’s on Fort Street, with many passersby stopping to give him a pet.

The dog is so popular, he’s even got his own hours posted on the store’s front door: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

But now Cody is stuck inside – because the city says he’s breaking a bylaw.

“He’s frustrated because he can’t get out and see all his regulars, and visit with all the people going up and down the street,” says Charmaine Britton, owner of Cody and the furniture store.

Victoria Animal Control has issued Britton two warnings in the last month over Cody sitting on the sidewalk without a leash, something he’s done for the last 13 years.

“Probably 99.9 per cent of people have a favourable reaction to Cody. We have not had complaints, even from people walking by or coming in the store,” Britton says.

Cody often visits the pharmacy next door to Britton’s shop, which has water and dog treats on hand for him.

“Cody, I don’t think, is a public menace or a public risk,” says manager Dr. John Forster-Coull. “There are certainly other things in this city that are a higher risk to public safety.”

Other things, he suggest, like tent city.

Victoria City Council admits the encampment at the city’s courthouse violates bylaws every day, but that doesn’t mean smaller infractions should be overlooked.

“We never want to come to the point where people say Cody’s a cute dog, we love him, don’t enforce the law. But Rover isn’t as nice, why aren’t you ticketing him?” says Coun. Charlayne Thorton-Joe.

While Britton understands the city is just doing its job, she says the simple act of sitting outside and “saying hello” goes a long way for her senior dog.

“I think the reason that he has lived so long is all the love and attention he gets in a day.”

She hopes the city will reconsider the rule so Cody can get back to doing what he loves – and be loved for it.