Dog attacks have increased in Toronto. Will education fix the persistent problem of off-leash dogs and owners acting irresponsibly?

Amid a surge in troubling off leash dog incidents, the city hopes a public education campaign will help people realize that owning a dog is a major responsibility.

Thestar.com, Cbc.ca
Aug. 10, 2023
Katie Daubs

With dog attacks on the rise in Toronto and a “surge” in recent headline-grabbing incidents, the city has a message for dog owners: Please leash your pets.

Before the educational press conference on responsible dog ownership began Wednesday afternoon, two off-leash dogs sauntered by the cluster of reporters gathered in the shade. One was a small fellow trotting next to a woman on the Kew Beach boardwalk, the other was a shaggier sheepdog. Bikes whizzed by, mothers pushed babies in strollers, but neither owner seemed bothered by their dog’s freedom.

Jasmine Herzog-Evans, the manager of the mobile response enforcement unit at Toronto Animal Services, hadn’t arrived yet, but when she did, she said if she knew why people have such a difficult time following the rules, she wouldn’t be talking to the media.

“I think it’s rooted in a lot of overestimation in people’s trust in their pets,” she said. “I have never done a dangerous dog investigation where the person knowingly thought that their dog was going to do that.”

According to the city’s stats, in 2022, there was a 39 per cent increase in the number of dog attacks on humans, and a 19 per cent increase in the number of altercations involving dogs and other animals. There have been a number of high-profile attacks in recent months: In May, a boy was bitten in the face by an off-leash dog at Rawlinson Community school. In June, a mother and daughter were walking near Midland Avenue and Lawrence Avenue East in Scarborough when they were attacked by two dogs. In late July, an East York woman was attacked and seriously injured by two dogs.

It’s difficult to get a sense of how many dogs there are in the city because of poor compliance with licensing, but anecdotally speaking, pet ownership increased in the pandemic, Herzog-Evans said.

Lockdowns may have restricted “a lot of people’s access to training and other socializing and behaviours that a dog needs to properly thrive in a busy city like the city of Toronto,” she said.

The city has more than 75 designated off-leash parks for dogs, and the fine for allowing your dog off-leash outside of these areas is $365. Enforcement is a challenge There are more than 1,500 parks in Toronto, and myriad ways people avoid fines. Scofflaws often ignore officers, quickly leash their dogs or walk away. Many people know that they can’t be compelled to give identification to a bylaw officer, she said. In 2022, they issued 50 tickets for off-leash dogs. So far in 2023, they have issued 34 tickets.

The city prioritizes education, hoping that people will voluntarily comply out of a “sense of camaraderie” with fellow residents, she said.

“Nobody wants to know that their dog was involved in severely hurting somebody else. I can only appeal to people’s conscience and hope that they would do the right thing so that everybody could safely enjoy our shared public spaces,” she said.

But anyone who visits Toronto’s parks knows the camaraderie approach hasn’t worked so well. So will there be more enforcement? The city’s parks are monitored by the “public spaces” bylaw team, which Herzog-Evans doesn’t oversee. She couldn’t comment on their strategy, but noted that when the city receives an influx of complaints about a particular park, officers are directed there.

Herzog-Evans said the heart of the issue is responsible pet ownership. The onus is on the owner to prevent their dog from engaging in a dangerous act. That means leashing, addressing behavioural issues and paying attention to your dog -- even when it’s on a leash.

“One of the number one things we hear from people when we do our investigations is that my dog has never done this before,” she said. “It’s never happened until it happens.”

Citizens who are attacked by dogs are encouraged to report the incident to the city, record the name and address of the dog owner involved, take photos of injuries, and find witnesses. An animal services officer investigates. Depending on the severity of the incident the dog could be given a written warning or a more serious “dangerous dog order.” The order can be appealed at the city’s Dangerous Dog Review Tribunal, although recent city stats show that successful appeals are rare -- of the 140 orders issued in 2022, three were rescinded. Dogs with the designation are not allowed in off-leash parks, must be muzzled in public, and must have warning signs at their residence. This year, the city has issued more than 44 dangerous dog orders and 168 written warnings for less severe incidents.