Toronto eyeing designation for dangerous dogs
City staff admit that budget constraints put limitations on their ability to enforce current rules meant to prevent and respond to dog attacks.

thestar.com
Nov. 26, 2015
By David Rider

City staff are trying to keep Torontonians safe from dangerous dogs while admitting that budget constraints have hurt their ability to enforce current rules.

Elizabeth Gibbery, manager of Toronto Animal Services, outlined for councillors the work underway toward recommendations this coming spring on how to better prevent and respond to dog attacks.

They will include defining “dangerous and vicious” dogs and the process for dealing with such animals. Many other cities have that designation, which triggers requirements for owners such as keeping the dog muzzled in public and having special insurance coverage.

Staff also plan to recommend hiking penalties for dog owners who ignore the rules, and clarifying the rules so the bylaw is easily understood by residents. The city also enforces the provincial Dog Owners Liability Act.

The review was launched at the request of Councillor Mike Layton after an ombudsman report criticized the city’s response to a 2012 incident in which a 6-year-old girl was mauled by a German shepherd-collie mix.

Criticism was levelled at Animal Services over excessive delay in responding to the incident, staff making inappropriate comments, and a lack of clarity in the process.

Anna-Maria Mountfort, the girl’s mother, told the licensing committee Thursday that she has met dozens of other dog-bite victims and it’s clear the system needs reform, including creating a dangerous-dog designation. Her daughter has fully recovered from the 2012 incident.

Animal Services’ focus is more on rescuing animals than on enforcement of current rules and the protection of people and other animals, Mountfort told councillors.

Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker said of dog attacks: “The city has failed to provide enough enforcement staff to make sure the public is safe and we can follow up on these episodes.”

There are currently 22 enforcement officers on staff, 10 fewer than the city had in 2009. An average of four officers are on duty at any given time.

“Resources have been reduced due to budgetary constraints,” Gibbery told the committee.

“We’re struggling to meet our basic response times, and I don’t believe we have adequate resources to meet the needs and the expectations of the public.”

De Baeremaeker said he will push for more funding for enforcement in ongoing budget deliberations.

Among the findings from the interim report:

• There are believed to be about 230,000 dogs in Toronto.
• In 2014, Animal Services reported 688 cases of dogs biting people, 248 cases of dogs biting other domestic animals, and 423 “dog menace or attacks.”
• The same year, 73 charges under the provincial law yielded 27 convictions.
• A study in the Journal of Pediatrics found dogs left tethered to an object in public are nearly three times more likely to bite than untethered dogs. “Mistreatment, abuse and poor standards of care” can also lead to aggressive behaviour.
• A small majority of Torontonians consulted felt that, for dogs that had bitten a person or domestic animal, “enforcing muzzling at all times while off the owner's property was sufficient to protect the public.”