Dog owners in Toronto who have been issued a dangerous dog order can expect officials to visit them soon as the city introduces new protocols to address and prevent severe dog attacks.
City staff will be making visits starting on Wednesday to address incidents based on their severity. Property owners will be given a new standardized sign to post on their property during these visits.
They will also be informing owners about the rules they need to follow under their dangerous dog order. These rules involve putting a muzzle on their dogs while in public, getting a tag for their dog indicating it is dangerous, giving their dogs socialization and training, and not letting their dogs off-leash in designated areas.
After the visits are finished, officials will keep performing routine checks and addressing complaints to make sure that compliance is maintained, as stated in a news release issued by the city to announce the updated regulations.
Presently, Toronto has 373 dangerous dog orders in effect. You can access a comprehensive list of all dangerous dogs in the city on the internet.
Pet owners who do not follow a dangerous dog order could be fined up to $615 or face a court-imposed penalty of up to $100,000 if found guilty.
Ensuring safety in our city involves avoiding incidents with aggressive dogs in public areas. Mayor Olivia Chow stated in a press release that the City of Toronto is dedicated to keeping residents and animals safe.
“If a person sees a dangerous dog not wearing a muzzle or in a dog park where off-leash dogs are not allowed, they can report it to the local 311 service and the situation will be looked into promptly. Making sure to keep dogs on leashes is important for the safety of everyone in the neighborhood.”
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Security measures for aggressive dogs are being reevaluated following an attack on a woman in East York.
In September of last year, Toronto-Danforth Coun. Paula Fletcher requested a thorough examination of severe dog attacks and the enforcement of Dangerous Dog orders. This came after a woman in East York was attacked by two dogs near her residence and suffered serious injuries.
In a letter dated September 6, 2023 addressed to Coun. Alejandra Bravo and members of the city’s Economic and Community Development Committee, Fletcher stated that the two dogs responsible for the July 30, 2023 incident were subject to dangerous dog orders at that time. The owner of these dogs also had two other dogs in their ownership that were under similar dangerous dog orders.
After the incident, Toronto police arrested a suspect and charged them with criminal negligence leading to physical harm.
Since that time, there have been at least two additional significant incidents where dogs were involved in attacks. One occurred in Rexdale in February, and another took place at the Little Norway playground by the waterfront just last month.
These two events both involved dogs that were not wearing muzzles or leashes, even though they had previously been ordered not to be in public without them due to being deemed dangerous. Fletcher pointed out this oversight.
Toronto City Council has recently passed new measures to deal with dangerous dogs in the city. These include creating a public list of dangerous dogs, stronger enforcement, and providing discounted dog training for owners who cannot afford it. Additionally, councillors have asked the provincial government to make changes to the Dog Owners’ Liability Act.
“I am pleased to see the city actively addressing the issue of dangerous dogs. These measures will help prevent potential dog attacks from occurring,” stated Fletcher in a press release.
“I think this marks the start of a new approach to prevention that targets dogs with the highest risk of causing harm, making owners of dangerous dogs responsible, and giving community members the knowledge needed to identify dangerous dogs in their area and report them.”
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In an interview with CP24, Fletcher mentioned that the new measures aim to ensure that owners of dangerous dogs are responsible for their actions.
She indicated the new signs that homeowners must show on their property and the city’s detailed online registry of dangerous dogs as methods to inform neighbors that a dangerous dog is present in the area and that the owner must adhere to strict regulations.
Fletcher emphasized the significance of preventing incidents like the one involving a child and a woman in East York, as it can have a profound impact on their lives. The implementation of new measures aims to support all owners of dangerous dogs, irrespective of their financial status, in improving their behavior and providing them with suitable training.
The person mentioned that dog owners should maintain control of their dogs while in Toronto and must adhere to this responsibility.
Finally, the councillor from the east end pointed out that these additional measures are meant to reassure victims that the city is actively taking steps to address the issue of dangerous dogs.
“Some of the individuals who have been bitten tend to believe that nothing will be effective,” she stated.
“They are deeply hurt that a dog with a muzzle requirement still managed to attack someone, like the woman in East York who was attacked while out for a walk,” she explained. She believes that the key to addressing this issue lies in enforcing rules, educating the public, and making changes to existing laws so that the city can take action more swiftly in response to severe attacks.
