Tay council are throwing dog owners a bone by asking residents to license their dogs, or face a bop on the nose from law enforcement.
Canine activity amounted to 275 investigations as per the year-to-date for November, according to the municipal law enforcement monthly activity report presented at the recent committee of the whole meeting.
By contrast, just 261 dog tags were sold in the township during the same time period.
Deputy Mayor Barry Norris noted at the meeting that his concern was due to rabies.
“This is our safety check for ensuring owners do have their dogs properly vaccinated, and it’s one of the main reasons why we do go for licensing.”
Rabies is a fatal disease to humans, commonly transmitted through a bite or scratch from a rabid animal; all dogs and cats over three months of age must be vaccinated against rabies.
For year-to-date in Tay, there were six dog attacks on humans through bites, one dog on dog attack, one Dog Owners Liability Act order, and five township muzzle orders.
The six bites in the 2024 was one higher than 2023.
Asked if the dog on human bites were from dogs running at large, municipal law enforcement services manager Jocelyn Belcourt clarified that the instances varied from running at large incidents, when the owner was present and sometimes during family gatherings, as well as on private and on municipal property.
Norris replied: “There used to be somewhere around 1,400 dogs that were licensed in the municipality; (now) we only have 250.”
Coun. Paul Raymond related an anecdote near his home in the Paradise Point area.
“There seems to be a chronic situation where specific houses, their dogs run out through the gate. They keep getting away and running down the street and scaring a lot of people," said Raymond.
He asked Belcourt if there were ways to modify the behaviour of ambivalent dog owners.
“In those situations,” said Belcourt, “we would encourage the neighbours in that area to give us a call and let us know that that’s happening so that we can follow up with the owner of the dog. We can put them on written notice as well.”
Dogs at large, if witnessed by law enforcement, could be captured and taken to the pound with the owner facing pound fees and potential additional charges.
“Obviously, we would encourage the owners to fix their fence or stand outside with their dog on a leash but I think as a first step it would just be getting that information to us that there continues to be a dog at large so we can take those first steps in educating the owner," said Belcourt.
One-year dog tags for 2025 are available at a discounted rate of $20 each until Feb. 28, increasing to $30 as of March 1.
Further information on dog licensing and related bylaws can be found on the canine control page of the Tay Township website.
The monthly activity report for municipal law enforcement can be found in the agenda page on the Tay Township website.
Tay council meets for committee of the whole meetings every second Wednesday of the month, and regular council meetings every fourth Wednesday of the month. Archives and livestreams of council meetings are available through the Tay Township YouTube channel.
