K-9 clash

>> Police and pet owners lock horns in Parc Lafontaine

by NOEMI LOPINTO

Photo by Jason Felker

Every Saturday morning, a new group of Plateau dissidents comes together at Parc Lafontaine’s Felix Leclerc statue to exchange police harassment stories. They do not fit the usual profile of anti-police types, though: they are mostly white, middle-class, home-owning, taxpaying and fully employed. They are also dog owners who hate the seven-year-old Lafontaine dog run.
Judith Toibb says her 80-pound Rottweiler, Sheba, refuses to enter the enclosure. “I think the problem is dog owners are not united,” says Toibb. “The dog run stinks, the rocks hurt the animal’s feet, it’s unsanitary. I know of at least one dog who got sick because of the lack of hygiene, and the owner had to dish out hundreds of dollars to save him.”

Toibb also says police are being very aggressive with recalcitrant owners, demanding identification and handing out tickets even when the dog is leashed. She claims the police were sitting in their squad cars “grinning” during the group’s last meeting. She also says police are targeting repeat offenders with stiff fines.

“[The run] was a big mistake,” says Toibb. “We want to rip out the enclosure and set up times when it is okay to let the dog run free.”

The dog run was the brainchild of the Association of Dog Owners of Lafontaine Park, which successfully petitioned the city for it in 1995. The run consists of a chain-link enclosure of rocks and two picnic tables. It does not get much in the way of maintenance. The water fountain is cleaned biannually and the bins full of doggie-do are emptied once a day.
Edith Prize, director of communications at Access Montréal, says dog owners pushed for the run, and they got it. “The owners are responsible for the hygiene of the area,” says Prize. “If they want to get rid of it now, they should petition their borough representatives. Those rocks cost a lot of money, we’re not going to change them. We sacrificed park space for the needs of dog owners. As dog runs go, this one is a Cadillac—it even has a water fountain. We’ve had a lot of complaints from residents about the noise and owner lack of discipline. We’re doing our best to satisfy everybody’s needs.”

Toibb says even if dog owners are picking up the poop, there will inevitably be a build-up of microbes without any serious maintenance. She is aware that there are people in parks who are afraid of dogs or who don’t necessarily want them running free. “The great majority of owners are responsible and leash their dogs when there are children or people about,” says Toibb. “However, it is also illegal to ride your skateboard or your bicycle in the park and they don’t bother those people. These are citizens who have jobs and responsibilities. Up until now they have been too busy to fight city hall. We’re putting the word out for people to come and talk about alternatives and document police intimidation.” :