Canine expertise needed to designate dangerous dogs, says group
By MICHAEL JIGGINS
Staff Writer

A member of a Canadian canine advocacy group says Brockville is barking up the wrong tree by appointing a council committee to hear appeals on dangerous dog designations.

"I think you need some canine experts. It's not as cut and dried as you think it would be - there would be reasons why a dog would do what they do," said Cathy Prothro, a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia resident and executive member of the Dog Legislation Council of Canada.

"In all fairness to the animal and to animal control and to the councillors, they shouldn't really be put in a position to be judge, jury and executioner. You would really want to have a system that is fair," she added.

Prothro was referring to a decision by city council Tuesday night to appoint its finance and administration committee as the forum for appeals from a resident whose dog is declared dangerous under the animal control bylaw.

That bylaw was amended by council last month to, among other things, empower the city's animal control officer to declare any dog - regardless of breed - dangerous following an investigation.

Such a designation would make the animal subject to public muzzling requirements

City clerk Sandra Seale said she studied animal control bylaws in about a dozen other municipalities and found "it's not uncommon" for the appeal body to consist entirely of councillors.

She suggested the system set up by council with its decision Tuesday is in some ways a test run that's open for review.

"We don't know at this point how often the committee will meet and the types of issues that will come forward to the committee," explained Seale.

"If we feel that it's not the right composition for the committee, then at that time council has the option or the authority to change the composition."

But Prothro is aware of similar committees in other municipalities and said frankly, "The committee deal doesn't really work very well."

Instead, she urged the city to at least consider appointing committee members with some expertise.

"You'd like to see at least a veterinarian, you'd like to see a canine behaviourist. You'd like to see representation from the major stakeholders in the canine community," said Prothro.

Given what they could be in for, she predicted, "Council would be quite happy with not having to designate dogs dangerous. I mean, let them get on with the business of the day."

Seale stressed the committee won't hear appeals on serious aggressive dog attacks where the outcome could see the animal destroyed.

Those cases, she said, would result in charges under Ontario's Dog Owners' Liability Act (DOLA) with the animal seized and the case proceeding directly to provincial court.

Seale said following the new route under the amended bylaw allows council to put restrictions on a dog after a more minor incident, possibly preventing a future attack.

And she noted the city could still pursue charges under DOLA at a later date.

The City of Calgary has been lauded for its innovative approach to animal control and the man in charge of the department said he wouldn't personally endorse Brockville's system.

Bill Bruce, director of animal and bylaw services and chief enforcement officer, said he takes every dog owner to court if his or her animal bites or is involved in an aggressive incident.

"I believe so strongly in everybody's rights, but I believe your rights are best protected by due process," said Bruce.

"I have to be able to articulate to the judge why I want these restrictions put on the dog, how it is that I've come to believe that this dog will reoffend," he said in an interview Wednesday.

All of the offending animals are seized, although in some of the minor incidents the dog is returned prior to the hearing.

"In all fairness to the animal and to animal control and to the councillors, they shouldn't really be put in a position to be judge, jury and executioner. You would really want to have a system that is fair."
- Cathy Prothro

But in all cases Bruce prosecutes the case to its end, arguing the court process drives home to the dog owner the seriousness of the matter.

He questioned why a city councillor would want to accept the responsibility of hearing an appeal and further, why the city would put its bylaw officer in the position of making the dangerous designation in the first place.

Despite years of experience - and having spoken on the subject around the country as well as advising other municipalities - Bruce said he would never make that declaration.

"You put on the shoulder of your animal administrator the job of judge, jury and executioner - so he is determining if the dog is innocent or guilty of an offence," said Bruce.

"That is the role of the courts."

He said a system works best when everybody has a job: council sets policy, the bylaw officials gather evidence and a judge weighs it.

Bruce also pondered the political sensitivity of having councillors hear appeals and also raised the issue of potential conflicts with staff if they go against the animal control officer's recommendations.

Calgary has also established a "responsible pet owners group," a subcommittee of council comprised of representation from several animal stakeholders' groups.

Every policy dealing with pets comes to that committee first before a recommendation is made to council, said Bruce.

The idea is to get co-operation from animal owners by demonstrating the city's commitment to having sound policy.

He pointed to a recent cat-licensing bylaw approved by council as an example of the benefits.

When it was tried by his predecessor, Bruce said 600 outraged cat owners picketed city hall. This time, with the committee in place, only six came to the meeting - three for, three against.

As for cases of animal aggression, Bruce noted there were 2,000 such incidents in Calgary 20 years ago when the population was 500,000.

Now more than twice that size, he said there were 401 incidents last year - almost a quarter of which involved minor bites.

Published in Section A, page 3 in the Thursday, September 27, 2007 edition of the Brockville Recorder & Times.

Posted 5:01:29 PM Thursday, September 27, 2007.