Dog owners not following town bylaws

Of all the places in Truro that dog owners visit to enjoy some time with man’s best friend, Victoria Park is by far the most popular.

Within the thousand-acre park there are kilometres of paved and dirt trails to enjoy, with dozens of smaller singletrack trails sprouting off the main trails and leading to different locations in the park.

Unfortunately, not every dog owner follows the town bylaws that say all dogs need to be on a leash, and that owners have to clean up after their pets. By not disposing of their pet’s waste, owners are leaving a mess behind that workers and visitors to the park often have to clean up.

If ingested by another dog, pet waste can cause a large number of health issues in the animal such as worms, parvo virus, and corona virus, along with giardia and coccidia, an intestinal parasite.

Owners walking their dogs in the park must have their dog on a leash and under control at all times, even if they are confident that their dog is friendly with other animals.

Off-leash dogs approaching other unfamiliar dogs raise the risk of a confrontation or a fight. If owners want to allow their dog the freedom to roam and play off-leash, they are advised to visit the Truro-Bible Hill offleash park on Lorne Street.

The town bylaw enforcement officer recommends that people report off-leash dogs, especially if there is a pattern of the same owner always having his animal off-leash and not under control. If a charge were issued it would be a standard Nova Scotia Summary Offence ticket of $245.