A responsible dog ownership bylaw was passed at the Foothills County council meeting on March 13, enacting measures to protect against nuisance and vicious animals.
“The dog bylaw has been in place for a number of years, and every so often you have to make sure that your bylaws conform to the laws that are in place today, as compared to when it was written,” said CAO Harry Riva Cambrin.
“There was a general need to take a look at the bylaw and make sure we conform, and as well after having experience in enforcing the old bylaw, figuring out where its weaknesses were and trying to fix that so that it’s strengthened so your chances of enforcement are improved.”
Riva Cambrin recognized that how people manage their dogs in the municipality can be a contentious issue, but said the new bylaw helps to better address issues of nuisance or vicious animals in a way that if peace officers need to take action it would be successful in the courts.
The existing bylaw was deemed insufficient after operational difficulties in the last few years concerning wording and structure made it difficult to enforce the laws, according to Sgt. Darlene Roblin, protective services co-ordinator for Foothills Patrol Peace Officers.
Following a comprehensive overview of the previous document, the new bylaw is the most current document and provides the tools that the peace officers require for effective enforcement.
“[Complaints concerning dogs] has always been quite steady, it’s one of the more common phone calls we receive involving complaints throughout the county, it’s been pretty consistent,” said Roblin. “What we have seen in the last couple of years is we’ve seen a couple of pretty aggressive dog bite situations where we just wanted to make sure that we had the right tools to deal with the situation.
“In the old bylaw, there was only one section that dealt with a dog bite, so whether a dog nipped somebody and didn’t break the skin or a dog bit somebody and tore them apart pretty badly, requiring medical aid and intervention, there was no differentiation between those two different things. It didn’t make a lot of sense.”
The new bylaw clarifies different levels of vicious behaviour and establishes different penalties according to the infraction.
Foothills County has seen an increase in complaints regarding dogs, ranging from dogs running at large, becoming a nuisance, chasing livestock and joggers, and causing injuries to livestock or people.
The responsible dog ownership bylaw authorizes the regulation and control of dogs for the purpose of promoting responsible dog ownership and to maintain public safety.
“[The new bylaw] provides as well some tools to seize an animal that has been involved in a biting situation,” said Roblin. “The old bylaw did not give us that ability, we actually had to go to court to get an order to seize the animal which was very cumbersome and expensive, and not really appropriate.”
In a dog-bite situation, the animal is taken for a dog behaviour assessment from a behavioural specialist recognized by the courts. The new bylaw gives peace officers the authority to seize the animal for evaluation.
The initial reading of the bylaw saw the draft amended to remove “wildlife” from the document in its entirety. The original bylaw draft attempted to capture all instances where sporting dogs are utilized in respect to wildlife, but was found too complicated.
The bylaw does not address wildlife in any manner, defaulting to the Wildlife Protection Act.
