After high-profile maulings, stricter rules for dangerous dogs could be coming to Toronto

A city council committee endorsed a staff report Tuesday recommending several new measures for responding to severe dog attacks in Toronto, including creating a public registry of dogs who have mauled people or other pets.

The Economic and Community Development Committee voted unanimously to adopt the report and send it to the wider city council for consideration in late March.

The key measures recommended by staff include:

City staff are similarly calling on the province to amend the Dog Owners' Liability Act to ensure cases are heard more promptly and to support municipalities in recovering the costs of sheltering dangerous dogs. The committee heard from staff Tuesday that dogs who have attacked people can sometimes spend months or even years in shelters while their cases make their way through provincial courts. 

The Municipal Licensing and Standards department is also exploring the ways to offer discounted or subsidized socialization and obedience training to owners and dogs involved in attacks. Staff said the training, which is mandatory after a dog has been given a DDO, is sometimes unaffordable for owners. 

The staff report was ordered by Coun. Paula Fletcher after a constituent in her ward, Cara van der Laan, was badly mauled on July 30, 2023, by two dogs that were off leash and without muzzles.

Currently, dogs that have a DDO are not allowed off-leash at any time, including at off-leash dog parks, and must be muzzled in public. 

Toronto police charged a 51-year-old woman with criminal negligence causing bodily harm in connection with the attack and both dogs were put down.

Fletcher said Tuesday that the review outlined by staff in the report focused largely on instances of severe mauling.

"There are very few dangerous dogs in the city of Toronto. Most are wonderful, loving family pets. But this very tiny percentage that are, need to managed. And it's also the owners that need to be managed," she told CBC Toronto.

Fletcher said an important part of the proposed changes will be enforcement. She noted that the recently passed 2024 city budget allocated more money for bylaw enforcement, including by animal control officers.

"I don't think there is currently enough follow up once a dangerous dog order is given," Fletcher said. 

The need for better enforcement was echoed by van der Laan, who spoke at the committee hearing via Zoom. She noted that one of the dogs who attacked her had already been given a DDO after several earlier biting incidents, including one that sent the victim to hospital, were reported to the city's 311 line.

City staff said Tuesday there are about 300,000 dogs in Toronto and roughly 2,000 owners with active DDOs.