By Doug Millroy

Guest columnist Doug Millroy is editor emeritus of The Sault Star newspaper in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. The strict pet controls that he describes seem alien in some jurisdictions, including on Lamma Island in Hong Kong, site of the accompanying photos.

When I first heard of the request that a leash-free zone for dogs be established in Sault Ste. Marie, I wasn’t enthused. Perhaps I saw this as giving to a few by depriving the majority, namely those who have no dogs to walk and who may be intimidated by their unleashed presence.

Even after the City Council passed a resolution in June calling for a report on the feasibility and advisability of such a zone, I remained silent, awaiting more information. The report remains unfinished, but I’ve done a little research on what happens in cities like Guelph, Hamilton and Mississauga. Recently, I observed a leash-free zone for myself, and now I’m fully in favor of establishing one.

If dogs running free pose no problems on a two-kilometre section of beach and walkway so designated along the Juan De Fuca Strait in Victoria, British Columbia, where I visited, they shouldn’t create trouble elsewhere. Of course, this depends on the pet-owners and how well they train and socialize their dogs, but surely we can match Victoria.

Most walkers along the Strait bring no dogs and stick to the sidewalk above the beach. Some canines stay on leashes and probably always will due to training failures or owner preferences. Others, mostly puppies, remain leashed during the training and socializing that eventually allow them the privilege to run free.

When first seeing large dogs bound toward me as I walked alone, I felt a little apprehensive, but they breezed by as if I wasn’t there. I quickly became comfortable. My pant-leg received a fleeting sniff from a passing dog only once.

The owners and dogs were well-mannered. Some dogs sniffed each other when their owners stopped to talk. Most of the pets carried a toy, mainly balls or sticks. One with a stick stopped to examine a ball, but left it when the owner quietly spoke his name, politely saying, “That’s not your toy.”

Victoria posts simple rules along the leash-free area:
• Pick up after your dog and drop waste into a garbage can.
• Control your dog at all times, leash or no leash.
• Prevent your dog from running or jumping at people.
• Don’t allow your dog to dig holes.
• Check with owners before allowing your dog to approach other dogs.
• Dogs must wear up-to-date licence tags on collars.

In Guelph, certain parks are designated as off-leash areas. City literature says that dogs must remain under control, even in designated off-leash areas. This means staying near their handlers (within sight and earshot), responding to voice commands and not venturing too near other animals and people.

Mississauga warns against bringing animals that may endanger or frighten park users and requires that pit-bulls stay muzzled and leashed. Hamilton also stipulates that female dogs in heat or sick dogs be kept away, that no more than two dogs be brought into the park by one person at a time and that pinch (prong) and spike collars are banned. Moreover, children in the park must be supervised by an adult.

Dogs must be licensed to use the leash-free zones. Hamilton insists on proof of rabies shots too.

If such a zone flops in Sault Ste. Marie, it can be abolished. But I doubt if that’ll prove necessary.



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