As dog owners battle the District of Saanich over proposed rules to restrict where dogs can roam without a leash, a local beach user wants the current rules enforced.
Curby Klaibert has written to the Capital Regional District to complain that one of its bylaw officers didn’t ticket a dog owner who hadn’t leashed their dog on Cadboro Bay Beach. CRD is contracted by Saanich to administer its animal control bylaws, which includes patrols at this beach.
Curby and Bernadette Klaibert were at the beach area on June 20 with their grandchildren when they spotted an off-leash dog and its owner.
“I mentioned to him that the entire beach required dogs to be on leash and he told me I should be a CRD dog bylaw officer and kept on walking with his dog still off leash,” Curby said in a letter. “His dog then immediately attacked a heron that was feeding in the shallows and I told him this was a wildlife reserve and that is the reason all dogs are supposed to be on leash. He then became abusive and aggressive.”
The family then spotted a CRD animal control officer and informed him of the situation.
“The officer could clearly see that the owner was frantically attempting to put the leash on his dog now that he saw the CRD officer,” Curby wrote. “We thoroughly expected the officer to ticket this individual or at the very least request identification and issue a warning ticket, but none of that occurred. The officer spent less than 30 seconds with this non-conforming dog owner. This belligerent dog owner then caught up with our group as we walked northward on the beach and proceeded to verbally assault us with volumes of profanity. He was less than 100 feet from the CRD officer when his verbal attack on us took place and the CRD officer did nothing, even though he was facing us and could clearly see what was transpiring. Shortly thereafter, the dog owner once again took his dog off leash and proceeded to walk northward and at no time did the CRD officer intervene or pursue this individual.”
Curby told Black Press Media that this situation is a frequent occurrence. He wants the CRD to hand out tickets because education isn’t enough for dog owners who believe it is a “dog’s God-given right to run off leash all the time.”
Shawn Carby, senior manager of protective services for the CRD, said they take enforcing the rules seriously.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to dogs off leash on that beach due to the Saanich bylaw and the Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MBS) associated with that area,” Carby said. “We regularly work closely with Wildlife Enforcement Officers from Environment and Climate Change Canada to enforce the Saanich bylaw and protect the wildlife in the sanctuary area. A recent Environmental Protection Tribunal of Canada ruling on June 14, 2023, Longpre v. Canada (Environment and Climate Change), 2023 EPTC 6, demonstrates the successful collaboration between our agencies with respect to convictions enforcing the bylaw and MBS protections at Cadboro Bay beach.”
Carby also addressed the specific incident involving the Klaibert family.
“The bylaw officer at the scene did not personally witness the dog being off-leash as it had been leashed by the time the officer was made aware of the situation,” Carby said. “Based on that lack of direct witness to the alleged incident, the likelihood of getting a conviction to sustain the fine if disputed would be remote as there would be no proof other than hearsay from a third party. The officer did interact with the dog owner and provided education and warned him to keep the dog leashed to avoid potential violations in the future.”
RELATED: ‘Frustrated and angry’ Saanich dog owners sign petition to stop leash rules
