Greater Victoria woman fights for better animal controls after off-leash dog attack

Maryse Zeidler · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A pistillate successful Greater Victoria is advocating for alteration to carnal power bylaws aft her tiny canine was attacked astatine an off-leash parkland successful Saanich. 

Christine Allen, 45, says she wants to spot much accountability for assertive and unsafe canine owners, much circumstantial rules astir what it means for a canine to be "under control" successful an off-leash park, and fines that automatically screen restitution costs for the owners of dogs that are attacked. 

"I truly bash consciousness that I request to accidental thing and basal up," Allen told CBC News. "I cognize that a batch of radical consciousness helpless, and it's however I was feeling."

The Capital Regional District says its carnal power bylaws are presently nether review.

Experts similar carnal lawyer Victoria Shroff accidental that canine attacks are communal and hold that bylaw changes are needed. However, she cautions against giving bylaw officers with small oregon nary ceremonial carnal grooming excessively overmuch authority. 

"What I would similar to spot is simply a strategy that has much transparency and that besides includes veterinarians successful the evaluations," Shroff says.

'That canine was going to termination Charlie'

Allen says her two-year-old miniature Aussie doodle, Charlie, was attacked portion she was walking on a way successful Tyndall Park a fewer weeks ago.

Charlie was connected a leash, Allen says, due to the fact that helium tin beryllium a spot reactive. She says different canine came up to Charlie. 

The enactment was good astatine first, she says, but rapidly changed aft Charlie lunged astatine the different canine portion helium was inactive connected the leash.

Allen says she picked Charlie up, but the different canine managed to propulsion him retired of her arms. 

"I knew that canine was going to termination Charlie. So I had a 2nd to think: bash I support my canine and enactment myself successful harm's mode oregon ... do I permission it and fto it happen? And I conscionable had nary choice."

Allen says she managed to footwear the different canine distant until its owner, who Allen says had been sitting astir 10 metres distant and looking astatine his phone, yet came implicit to propulsion it away.

She got the owner's telephone fig and rushed Charlie to the vet. 

Lucky dog

Charlie required respective stitches and a fewer appointments for follow-up care. 

Although Allen has favored insurance, she says galore of the costs Charlie has incurred aren't deductible. She says truthful far, the different canine proprietor has refused to wage her for those bills. 

Feltham Animal Hospital veterinarian Ilona Houston has checked connected Charlie since the incidental occurred. Houston says Charlie was fortunate — his injuries were comparatively insignificant compared to others she has seen. 

"This twelvemonth alone, I deliberation we've had 4 oregon 5 rather superior canine attacks travel done here," she said. 

Warning vs assertive label

Allen contacted the Capital Regional District (CRD), which Saanich contracts to enforce carnal power bylaws. A bylaw serviceman initially told her the different canine proprietor would beryllium fixed a warning. 

"I thought, 'How tin you springiness him a warning?' This canine went aft my canine to the constituent of wanting to termination him," Allen said. "To me, astatine minimum, the canine should beryllium connected a leash and beryllium trained."

After CBC News contacted the CRD, a spokesperson said the lawsuit was being re-evaluated and the different canine would beryllium labelled arsenic aggressive. 

Ilona Houston, Charlie's veterinarian, agrees that a canine onslaught of that severity is unusual. 

"A dog that earnestly hurts different dog, that is not emblematic behaviour," Houston says. "We don't expect to spot that. And if that behaviour has been seen, it should beryllium taken precise seriously."

In Saanich, assertive dogs indispensable beryllium kept connected a non-retractable leash astatine each times erstwhile outdoors and indispensable deterioration a muzzle. The "aggressive" statement tin beryllium removed aft six months if the canine has completed behaviour training. 

The CRD says it's successful the aboriginal stages of updating its carnal power bylaws. Potential updates could see a much rigorous explanation of what it means for a canine to beryllium "under control" astatine an off-leash parkland and steeper fines for unsafe oregon assertive canine owners. 

But the determination territory lone controls bylaws wrong its jurisdiction. Municipalities that declaration with the territory for carnal power tin person their ain bylaws. 

'We truly request to amended owners'

Houston says some assertive behaviour similar lunging, growling and snapping tin beryllium normal. She says veterinarians are experienced and trained to measure those actions successful a circumstantial context. 

"We spot dogs grounds behaviours similar that each the time here successful session erstwhile they're scared, tense oregon successful pain," she says. "And it doesn't needfully mean that they are going to beryllium deemed a unsafe dog."

Animal lawyer Shroff says she would similar to spot veterinarians arsenic portion of a sheet of experts who determine whether a canine should beryllium labelled arsenic assertive oregon dangerous. 

She says she's supportive of updating carnal power bylaws to adhd clarity astir canine owners' rights and responsibilities.

"Dog attacks are happening ever increasingly," she said. 

"We truly request to amended owners, and we request to speech to them astir wound prevention."