City eases requirements for reporting nuisance dogs

The City of Saskatoon is moving to make it easier for neighbours to report problem dog barking.

City council’s planning, development and community services committee voted Monday to reduce the number of days of nuisance barking a complainant has to log before the Saskatoon Animal Control Agency (SACA) can take action.

“We feel we can still meet the evidentiary requirements for a fine in about a two to three-day window,” said Andrew Roberts, the city’s acting director of recreation and community development.

Previously, people who phoned in a complaint about a noisy dog were asked to fill out a log of between five and seven days.

Speaking on the Brent Loucks Show, Roberts said the overall reporting process remains the same. Residents who have an issue with their neighbours’ noisy animals can call SACA, who will then advise them on next steps and may ask for a log to be filled out.

From there, SACA would complete its own investigation and then decide on whether to proceed with a warning or a fine.

With the committee’s vote, Roberts said city administration would be working to implement the change as soon as possible.

Fines start at $100 for a first offence and can increase to $200 or $300 for subsequent offences.

Roberts said the city gets about 300 complaints about nuisance dog barking each year, with the majority of those not leading to fines.