Woman concerned for outdoor dogs in C.B.S. as temperatures drop

A woman living in Conception Bay South is worried that dogs in the town are being left out in the cold — and that the town is turning its back on the animals, with winter on our doorstep.Heather Ballard is an animal lover with four large dogs, and she's also been a member of Beagle Paws for the past 12 years.She regularly checks out complaints in the area, and passes them along to town staff.In August, she handed over a list of 31 separate complaints of properties that weren't abiding by the provincial regulations.Ballard said she was appalled by some of the dogs' living conditions."We've seen quite a few with a lot of debris around. It's very unsafe for the dogs to be tethered out and to have debris there," she said."The dog houses we're seeing, they're not insulated, they're not weatherproof, they don't have hallways, they don't have flaps. Their chains are not five times the length of their body, like they're supposed to be. It's bad conditions, all the way around. Even food and water's not being provided, and if there [are] water buckets, they're tipped over."Ballard said many dog owners are breaking the rules, and the town is not enforcing them.When she contacted the town, she was assured by staff that they were investigating the complaints, and that several of the files had been closed."The town is not protecting the dogs. They're being neglected and changes aren't being made that need to be made to keep them safe," she said."Winter's coming now, and I'm fearful that these dogs will perish."'Zero tolerance' for animal abuse, mayor saysConception Bay South Mayor Ken McDonald said the town responds to about 1,200 issues a year involving pets.He said many of the complaints brought forward by Ballard have already been dealt with."If we find somebody not in compliance with the provincial regulations, under the Animal Health and Protection Act, we will try to work with that pet owner to bring [them] in compliance," McDonald said.He said there are currently five staff members who are trained animal inspectors under the act."Our people are fully trained in looking at each case individually and making recommendations if anything has to be done," McDonald said. "They're not going in haphazard and removing an animal from their home. We want the animal to stay where it's to. It's better off at home than it is in a kennel, especially if it's not in distress. That's what we work to try to accomplish."McDonald said the town closes files once changes are made to a property and the regulations are met. Though he said those changes are not always made overnight."If they're not in the compliance, they don't close the file. They keep checking on it and making sure that they're still moving forward," he said."Some of them might need some extensive work, and some of them might only be minor adjustments to bring them into compliance. But they do not close a file until they're assured that everything is where it should be."McDonald said the town has stepped in and removed animals from bad situations, including seven pit bulls that were seized last December, as well as a dog that had its neck scarred by a collar and chain."We have zero tolerance when it comes to abuse of animals... our history and our record speaks to that. And we'll continue to work towards that," he said. A woman living in Conception Bay South is worried that dogs in the town are being left out in the cold — and that the town is turning its back on the animals, with winter on our doorstep. Heather Ballard is an animal lover with four large dogs, and she's also been a member of Beagle Paws for the past 12 years. She regularly checks out complaints in the area, and passes them along to town staff. In August, she handed over a list of 31 separate complaints of properties that weren't abiding by the provincial regulations. Ballard said she was appalled by some of the dogs' living conditions. "We've seen quite a few with a lot of debris around. It's very unsafe for the dogs to be tethered out and to have debris there," she said. "The dog houses we're seeing, they're not insulated, they're not weatherproof, they don't have hallways, they don't have flaps. Their chains are not five times the length of their body, like they're supposed to be. It's bad conditions, all the way around. Even food and water's not being provided, and if there [are] water buckets, they're tipped over." Ballard said many dog owners are breaking the rules, and the town is not enforcing them. When she contacted the town, she was assured by staff that they were investigating the complaints, and that several of the files had been closed. "The town is not protecting the dogs. They're being neglected and changes aren't being made that need to be made to keep them safe," she said. "Winter's coming now, and I'm fearful that these dogs will perish." 'Zero tolerance' for animal abuse, mayor says Conception Bay South Mayor Ken McDonald said the town responds to about 1,200 issues a year involving pets. He said many of the complaints brought forward by Ballard have already been dealt with. "If we find somebody not in compliance with the provincial regulations, under the Animal Health and Protection Act, we will try to work with that pet owner to bring [them] in compliance," McDonald said. He said there are currently five staff members who are trained animal inspectors under the act. "Our people are fully trained in looking at each case individually and making recommendations if anything has to be done," McDonald said. "They're not going in haphazard and removing an animal from their home. We want the animal to stay where it's to. It's better off at home than it is in a kennel, especially if it's not in distress. That's what we work to try to accomplish." McDonald said the town closes files once changes are made to a property and the regulations are met. Though he said those changes are not always made overnight. "If they're not in the compliance, they don't close the file. They keep checking on it and making sure that they're still moving forward," he said. "Some of them might need some extensive work, and some of them might only be minor adjustments to bring them into compliance. But they do not close a file until they're assured that everything is where it should be." McDonald said the town has stepped in and removed animals from bad situations, including seven pit bulls that were seized last December, as well as a dog that had its neck scarred by a collar and chain. "We have zero tolerance when it comes to abuse of animals... our history and our record speaks to that. And we'll continue to work towards that," he said.