Dog patrol fines go overboard

In public areas where there are families with children, I understand the safety precaution of having dogs leashed at all times. But I’m in a group of people who take our dogs to a park next to the flour mills on the Lachine Canal, by the railroad tracks. No children play there. We are all quiet, our dogs are not aggressive, and we have never had incidents.

But now we are constantly policed, even when we are enjoying a quiet moment with our dogs at our feet. On a recent evening, seven of us got ticketed for no reason at all. A ticket can be $149 per dog. Is this a way for the city to make money?

I am aware there is a crackdown now, with isolated dog attacks in the news. But this situation will not get resolved by giving us fines. Soon we won’t be able to walk our dogs anywhere, on or off a leash. Catherine Hoffmann, Montreal