On April 13, local resident Jan Turner was walking her dog when she and her dog were attacked by one of the dogs.
“I was walking on Murray Drive when I witnessed a pack of four dogs fighting,” she says in a letter she sent to council. “Unfortunately, my dog started barking and I was ultimately attacked by a Rottweiler while protecting my dog.”
Her injuries were severe enough to require medical care. The RCMP were contacted to ascertain the health of the dog that attacked her and confirm it had all its shots.
The owner of the dog was visited by the RCMP and Bylaw enforcement.
According to the Tumbler Ridge Animal Responsibility Bylaw, a dog is labeled a dangerous dog when it “has killed or injured a person, or has pursued or harassed a person,” she says. “I was informed that because this animal has not shown dangerous characteristics previously that it will not be labeled as dangerous.”
Turner says she was saved from serious damage because she was wearing winter boots at the time, which bore the brunt of the dog’s attack. “Even with the boot I have extensive injuries to my right lower leg,” she says. “My incident would have had a devastating result if it were a child or senior who was attacked.”
She says the incident has brought to light the dangers of not having a dedicated Animal Control in our community. “Because our town doesn’t have a dedicated Animal Control, how do people make complaints of animal responsibility issues? Often people post on Facebook about loose dogs. When you Google Animal Control an out of service phone number is listed.”
Fire Chief and Bylaw Control Officer Dustin Curry says the dog that bit Turner was a young dog that had escaped from its yard. “There was an off-duty RCMP out on his deck who watched the whole thing,” says Curry. “There was never any other bite after the original bite. To simply go from zero to a dangerous dog…you need to have a trend established.” He says that trend has not been established in this case. “We asked around the community, and nobody in the area even knew this dog was there. It’s not a problem dog.”
The owner, he says, will probably be required to have a muzzle on the dog when it is out. “Contact was made with the owner; who was very remorseful,” says Curry. “He hadn’t latched the latch on the gate properly.”
The owner was issued a warning for having a dog without licence and for having a dog at large. The owner was also issued a $400 fine for a dog bite. “This is one of the most extensive fines we have,” says Curry. “The animal owner took full ownership over his mistake, and is taking steps to prevent it from happening.”
Curry says rather than fine the owner for having a dog without a licence, he issued a warning. He says this generally results in more compliance than issuing a fine directly.
However, town council is concerned about what appears to be a systemic issue. “There are loose dogs out there,” says Councillor Norbury. “I went out for a jog this weekend and saw multiple dogs off leash. He argues that the position of Animal Control officer should be brought back.”
Councillor Krakowka says that maybe it’s time to step up enforcement. Bylaw infractions, he says, are generally complaint driven, but there is a full-time bylaw officer, and a fire chief who can issue tickets. “I don’t think we should be doing complaints on this,” he says. “We should be doing enforcement. Maybe up our fines for not having a licence. Maybe we should be changing the shifts up. Right now we have two people who can do animal control who both work Monday to Friday, 8-4:30.”
Council has asked staff for a report on options for upping animal control in town.
In 2019, Bylaw responded to 80 calls around domestic animals (mostly dogs). This resulted in 88 hours of work. Out of those 80 calls, 15 written warnings were issued and six fines were levied.
So far in 2020, there have been 14 calls, resulting in 20 hours of work. Five warnings for dogs at large have been issued and one fine has been levied.
Turner says she would like to see something happen, soon. As she was writing the letter to council, a dog approached her son, who was playing basketball in their driveway. This was, she says, one of the dogs from the previous incident. “Again, this incident happened after hours,” she says. “Who do residents call? I question my safety in my front yard and walking on the streets of Tumbler Ridge.”
