Reining in dog owners

Toronto has long referred to itself as “a city within a park,” a fitting description of a metropolis that boasts 1,500 parks covering more than 8,000 hectares of land.

But at the end of the day, it is almost irrelevant how much green space the city has or how beautiful it is if Torontonians can’t enjoy that space without the risk of being mauled by an off-leash dog. It is grossly unfair that for many young parents in the city, a trip to their child’s favourite playground is rendered potentially dangerous due to the extreme negligence of scofflaw pet owners.

This isn’t hyperbole: Toronto has seen numerous dog attacks over the last year, most recently an attack in Little Norway Park near the city’s waterfront that sent a child to hospital with “lifealtering” injuries. A Toronto woman has been charged in relation to that incident.

According to reporting by the Star’s Raju Mudhar and Calvi Leon, the dog owner had been “previously evicted” from her apartment after the same dog — an American Pocket Bully named Capo — was involved in a separate mauling attack in 2021. Court documents revealed that not only was a “dangerous dog order issued” for Capo following the initial attack, the dog owner’s condominium sought a court order to evict her and her thenboyfriend from the building for failure to muzzle and leash their dogs.

A former neighbour of the offending dog owner even told the Star that she felt the need to carry a weapon because the woman’s animals roamed the halls freely.

How on earth did we get here? Why was a dog owner with such a history given the opportunity to let a vicious dog roam free unmuzzled near a playground?

It highlights the fact that the city’s approach to cracking down on irresponsible dog ownership demands urgent reform. For too long Toronto has turned a blind eye to residents who allow their dogs to run free in areas where doing so is forbidden.

This behaviour isn’t just potentially dangerous, it is also disrespectful to other users on these public spaces and unhygienic. For every off-leash dog that mauls a child, there are hundreds more that jump up on unsuspecting strangers causing distress, sometimes injury, not to mention another pet peeve of parents: dogs that do their business in children’s playgrounds.

Designated off-leash areas exist for a reason. If dog owners feel there aren’t enough dog parks in the city, they are welcome to urge their civic leaders to build more. But in the interim, it is unacceptable for dog owners to let their pets roam free in leashed areas — even if those owners believe their pets to be friendly.

To its credit, Toronto city council recently approved recommendations to reform how the city handles dangerous dogs. In a unanimous vote last month, Toronto agreed to create a dangerous dog registry that offers photos of specific dogs involved in attacks as well as the first three digits of the postal code where they reside. And though owners’ names and addresses will not appear on the registry, warning signs will be posted outside the homes where the dangerous dogs live.

The city is also requesting that the province examine setting higher fines for dog owners who break the law.

It’s this last idea that we believe could have the greatest impact. Knowing where dangerous dogs live is somewhat helpful to residents, but it ceases to be helpful the moment a dog owner takes their unmuzzled pet to the park against the rules.

According to the city’s website, owners of dogs who are off-leash can be fined $365. Our leaders would do well to double that figure and focus their attention on bylaw enforcement at popular green spaces adjacent to playgrounds. That's the call from some Toronto councillors.

While a “tough on crime” approach is unfair in many contexts in our society, it’s not unfair in this one. It’s simple: children should roam free. Dangerous dogs should not. And those who let them should meet the full force of the law.

For every off-leash dog that mauls a child, there are hundreds more that jump up on unsuspecting strangers causing distress, sometimes injury, not to mention another pet peeve of parents: dogs that do their business in children’s playgrounds