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Ahmerstburg council to decide if 'Dangerous Dog' appeal group to be taken over by residents

If your dog is considered as "dangerous" in the Town of Amherstburg, you can fight to have that label overturned by making your case in front of the Dangerous Dog Appeal Committee.

On Monday, a recommendation will be presented to council, requesting that the committee be comprised of three town residents.

The Dangerous Dog Appeal Committee is currently made up of town councillors — meaning Monday's vote will determine if council wants to take decision-making power out of its own hands.

Determining a 'dangerous dog'

The town defines a "dangerous dog" as one which has attacked, bitten or caused injury to a person or another dog "in the absence of any mitigating factor."

These factors, as outlined by the town, include:

  • A dog defending a person or another animal.

  • A dog reacting to a person trespassing on the property of its owner.

  • A dog acting in aggression after being teased or provoked.

PXHere/Creative Commons
PXHere/Creative Commons

A by-law enforcement officer would be responsible for investigating a dog incident and would take all factors into consideration before determining whether a dog should be labelled as dangerous.

Appeals can be presented to council within 14 days of a dog gaining a "dangerous" designation.

Giving the power to the people

Removing councillors from the committee eliminates any risk of bias, reads an excerpt from Amhertsburg council's July 15 agenda.

"Moreover, any action by a council member may be perceived by one resident as favouritism or personal animosity toward the other," it adds.

According to deputy mayor Leo Meloche, councillors are part of many committees, which require them to attend a lot of meetings. He said by putting this appeal committee in the hands of the public, it would alleviate some of that pressure from councillors.

"[It's] much like other committees where we have public engagement as well as political engagement in the process," said Meloche. "This was one which we felt could be handled effectively through the public."

If this change moves forward, the Dangerous Dog Appeal Committee would be drastically reduced from seven members of council to three town residents.

"That's administration's recommendation. Whether or not we so choose to say that three is sufficient is something we'll have to look at as well," said Meloche.

"We may say, 'No, that may not be sufficient' or we may say, 'That may be sufficient.' ... That will be discussed Monday night."