Dangerous Dog Bylaw Not Working Says Skakun
Prince George, B.C. – Prince George City Councillor Brian Skakun says a vicious pit bull attack on an elderly woman Thursday is proof the city’s dangerous dog bylaw isn’t working.
“I don’t know how much bylaw services has really been enforcing it (bylaw). But I let administration know I was concerned about this and that we really need to step it up.”
A lot of times he says bylaw services is complaint driven and notes that needs to stop.
City Councillor Brian Skakun – photo courtesy City of Prince George
“There has to be a point where this is going to be a priority and that we’re going to go out to certain areas (i.e. Cottonwood Park, off-leash areas) and make a presence. It’s just like the RCMP – if they can make their presence known when there’s a problem then I think bylaw services needs to do the same.”
Skakun says during upcoming budget talks council will be going through all the various departments and he promises to find out if the bylaw is effective.
“Has there been a reduction in bites and have tickets been handed out for problem dogs? Is what we’re doing working?”
In the meantime he says he’s spoken to the victim of Thursday’s attack at Ginters Field and says she’s pretty shaken up.
“She’s really traumatized. She was trying to protect her two dogs when the pit bull attacked and grabbed hold of her leg. The dog owner had to beat the dog off her. She’s suffered a real serious leg injury.”
Comments
But what’s the cost going to be? How many bylaw people do we have? Are we prepared to pay the cost of having more officers to maintain a “presence?” Tell me this isn’t just another soundbite Mr. Skakun and that you’re really capable of formulating a plan that you can get the rest of Council on board with. It’s your job to set policy and the budget, but not to run departments, so are you sure you want to throw more dollars at the situation, if that is what you’re proposing? If that is the case, what area are you going to reduce spending from to cover the cost? Snow or roads perhaps? Maybe you’d like to not buy that new equipment that has been recommended by a very expensive consultant. Maybe you want to trim a fire hall? No, you say? Maybe you want to stop spending money to investigate projects like the performing arts centre? Guess that’s not fair really, because that ship has sailed.
I feel terrible for this lady and this tragic event. But we don’t have enough money in the kitty to mitigate the behaviour of the lowest common denominator of our society. That being said, I’m sure the police are already looking into this. We all need to start taking more responsibility for what goes on in our community though and get involved. The other option is to start living in a police state and that’s not an option I’d like to consider. We have too many laws already and very little in the way of personal responsibility; and yes I think there is a correlation there. We can all start by addressing poor animal handling behaviour when we see it.
it’s been proven all around the world, that BSL doesn’t work. Get rid of the bylaw completely!
Everyone knows the Breeds of dogs which have nasty traits. You want to still own them, well fine it is a free country, but follow the laws that protect people from your ……… You can pretty much tell who is involved with drugs by looking at their dogs… irresponsible to say the least.
I just read the Animal Control Bylaw and see one provision that is routinely, and I believe reasonably, violated. A “leash”is defined as being no more than “2.4 metres (six feet)” long. Leaving aside the incorrect arithmetic (2.4 metres is approximately 7.9 feet), that is an awfully short leash. The many people I see walking their dogs on those reeled leashes are all in violation of the bylaw, as are many people with fixed length leashes.
The bylaws would work great if there were bylaw officers with the talent and ability to enforce them. I have not had much luck with bylaws officers, and in my opinion, such as it is,they can find more excuses not to respond to complaints than there are complaints to respond to.
First of all we have to find a way for the bylaw officers to stay out of Timmy’s and get them to do the job they are supposed to do. They seem to have an extended coffee break for 3 to 4 pm and then time to go home.
So the bylaw wasn’t being enforced the victim should sue the city for damages. I hope she sues the owner of the dog too!
Get rid of it than! Maybe instead target irresponsible owners, who own dogs of many breeds!
WHY even have bylaw officers??? Can’t get hold of them on weekends.. They still have old banking hours. a waste of money
Why are some comments being made about the length of leashes when the original story clearly stated this:
“Prince George- An Elderly woman is in hospital undergoing treatment, after a pit bull dog, attacked her earlier today, in Ginters field, an off leash area for pets, in Prince George.”
Obviously people should not let their dogs run free if they are too aggressive towards other dogs and even people.
Unless a dog is used for work eg. A sheep dog.
Or a bloodhound to track, it is stupid to have dogs as pets. Any breed that is.
What mammal likes to be kept as a pet naturally?
I know all the goofy dog lovers will disagree but dogs are no different than killer eagles and lions and tigers.
Just because humans have domesticated all sorts of stupid things doesn’t make it right.
Enough is enough.
Should have said
” killer whales” lol
Killer eagles, that would be cool.
If they ate stupid little yappy dogs!
Do we have bylaw services, could have fooled me.
Bylaw should enforce clean air regulations. I live within city limits and now that it again gets cold overnight the choking and coughing due to three neighbours burning wood in cheap stoves (to heat their homes the old-fashioned Victorian era style) with the thick smoke hugging the ground in the morning making any outdoor activity impossible.
I called the city once during an air advisory but couldn’t get anywhere.
Bylaw officers don’t work after hours. Feel free to do as you please during those hours.
Ohh yeahhhh Forgot…. all infractions only happen between the hours of 8-4
sounds like one poster should go into early hibernation with his/her pet toy
“Why are some comments being made about the length of leashes”
Because I noticed an anomaly in the bylaw, not every aspect of which bears on this incident.
wow, my comment was deleted…guess I better stop stating the truth
why categorize dogs ( dangerous or not)(who decides)…. if it is a “dog” and it is off property or not in a leash free zone…put a leash on it… a short one where the owners can actually contol their dog.
I would actually like to see cats on a leash as well…and yes it can be done, they do quite well on a leash actually.
You want to see a bylaw officer at ANYTIME of the day, even on Sundays? Put a ‘SLOW DOWN’ sign or one of those cut-outs of a child in front of your house. Less than an hour and you will have a city thug telling you to take it down.
An interesting side job for our animal control officers is as bill collectors. I mean I was very surprised to see one at my door to ask me if I had paid my dog license fee for the year. When I said no, but I would head down to city hall and pay up, he informed me that he could return at my convenience to collect the fees and hand me over a new tag, saving me the hassle of going downtown. I was most impressed with this attention to combing the dog owners list for license fees. I wonder when they decided it was more beneficial for animal control officers to become glorified pizza delivery drivers, rather than by-law officers.
Other towns have figured this problem out. Check Calgary. The overall trend is away from breed-specific rules just because they are so far off the mark. Make owners responsible for their pets. End of story.
Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2014 @ 5:53 PM by PrinceGeorge
“Why are some comments being made about the length of leashes when the original story clearly stated this”
Because PG, the bylaw states any pit bull OR pit bull cross MUST be on a leash as well as muzzled in ANY public place. This includes an off leash park.
furbink: “Make owners responsible for their pets. End of story.”
That’s not much consolation for those who are mauled and have permanaent injuries and scars due to these aggressive unpredicatable breeds.
How do you ‘make’ someone responsible who has no interest in being responsible in the first place?
I hope that lady sues the owner for sure!! A lot of people don’t care about other people anymore and it is so sad…..I see it soooo much lately. Ginters Field should insist on dog’s on a leash, because we should all be able to walk there. There are lots of people working for the city who have mean dogs and that is why the dogs don’t need to be on a leash there….makes me sick.
Thank you to Brian Skakun for getting on this….you do care about people and that is so nice!!
PrinceGeorge: I wonder if you have ever thought of going to your neighbours and voicing your concerns with them in a nice way? They might just try to accommodate you.
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