By Melanie Brook
They read like police reports: a pit bull attacked and killed a small Lhasa Apso dog in a woman’s backyard. A husky broke into a barn, starting a killing spree that ended with 15 dead sheep. Two Rottweilers pounced on a small dog, which barely survived.
These are only a few stories from the record books at the Humane Society of Ottawa-Carleton. But workers there hope changes to the dog control bylaw, passed by Ottawa City Council last week, will make that record book lie empty.
If an unprovoked dog bites a human or another dog, animal control officers can now order that the animal be leashed or muzzled when in public. At home, it must be in an enclosed area such as a fenced yard.
“This puts the responsibility where it belongs, on the dog’s owner,” says Lynn Gordon, manager of shelter operations at the Humane Society. “When the owner is responsible, a lot of bites will be prevented. They’re more aware.”
The city gets about 100 reports of dog bites each year, but more than twice that number are reported to the regional health department, says Martha Boyle, manager of licensing and animal control for the city. Most of the bites are to children between six and nine, says Gordon.
“If the dog’s on a leash and encounters another dog or child, you can pull him back,” she says. “If he’s not on a leash, you have no control. It’s a public safety issue.”
There are 8,500 licensed dogs in Ottawa and probably 20,000 unregistered ones, according to City of Ottawa figures. Every licensed dog in the city has its own log, a kind of canine criminal record so animal control officers can keep track of it.
Gordon says the new provisions would be more effective if offending dogs were forced to undergo behaviour classes or be microchipped for easy identification.
For now, enforcement will be done largely through a neighbourhood watch system, says Boyle.
“People know if there’s a problem dog in their area,” she says. “And all notices sent to the owner will also be sent to the original complainant. So if they see the dog owner not complying, they’ll call us.”
In that case, the owner could face a fine, which will likely be set at $500.
“Sometimes the court process is so long if the owner appeals it, the dog has reoffended in the meantime,” says Boyle.
Dog owners at Dundonald Park on Somerset Street say the new rules were a long time coming.
Roger Madore has had several run-ins with aggressive dogs, and has a scar on his chin where he was bitten when he was nine.
“Dogs should be muzzled regardless,” says Madore, who was walking his chihuahua-schnauzer. “There’s a real bonehead around the corner with a husky. His dog attacked me once. If city council had passed this earlier, I wouldn’t have got snapped at.”