‘Don’t worry, he’s friendly’: Growing frustration with off-leash dogs in east end
Beach residents just love their dogs and the winter off-leash areas, but not everyone shares the sentiments.
Beach residents just love their dogs and the winter off-leash areas, but not everyone shares the sentiments.
It started as a routine trip to the off-leash dog park. It ended in tragedy. “[The dog] had its chest completely ripped into,” emergency veterinarian Dr. Norm Nasser said, recalling a particularly nasty case. The damage was done in a fight with another dog.
Baird Park in Toronto’s west-end was closed Sunday after chocolate bits were found scattered around the leash-free dog park.
If you are a Scarborough resident and have a dog, you should know the city is cracking down on off-leash dogs. But fret not, there are dog parks in the community. The parks are fenced in and the dogs can be off-leash and free to play without the fear of fines … or worse.
When Marilia Janicas wants to let Brooklyn, Cosmo and Sophie run and play leash-free, she and her three dogs make the trek down to High Park, she says. Janicas has lived in Ward 11 for almost 10 years and has spent many of those years trying to bring an off-leash dog park to her York South-Weston neighbourhood.