The City of Dorval is backtracking after it proposed new rules calling for muzzles and other restrictions for a dozen types of dog breeds.
The breed list was tabled at Monday’s city council meeting as part of a proposed animal control bylaw. It was quickly dropped on Tuesday following a barrage of complaints from residents.
“The mayor received a lot of emails during the night, this morning, on Facebook of course,” said Sébastien Gauthier, a spokesperson for the city. “We received a lot of comments on that.”
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In a statement released on Tuesday, the city announced it would no longer include a breed-specific list of dogs as part of its proposed bylaw. The goal is to protect residents with respect to dangerous dogs, according to city officials.
Under the proposed bylaw, dogs identified as dangerous or potentially dangerous will need to be muzzled in public. Homeowners will also have to put a pictogram in their window identifying that a potentially harmful dog lives in the dwelling.
The decision to remove the breed-specific list has been met with approval from residents like Linda Cutler. Over the past 45 years, she has owned seven dogs. She says owners need to be responsible for their pets’ behaviour.
“I don’t accept the fact that a breed is a bad breed,” she said.
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Meira Frankl is a dog trainer who owns a pit bull-type dog named Chloe. She was concerned about the potential list of dog breeds, saying it was wrong for the city to consider such an idea in the first place.
“It creates a false sense of safety,” she said.
Frankl says every dog is different and their behaviour doesn’t depend on their breed. She says it is wonderful the city decided not to include breed-specific legislation as part of its bylaw.
The new restrictions are expected to be adopted at a city council meeting on Oct. 21.
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— With files from Global News’ Tim Sargeant