Restraining order fought by Uxbridge dog owner
Sat May 17, 2008
By: By Jeff Hayward
UXBRIDGE -- An Uxbridge business owner is fighting an order to restrain his dog following the report of a biting incident. Conrad Richter, owner of Richters Herbs in Goodwood, was present at Town Hall on May 12 to appeal a Township decision to restrain 'Tiger', a 14-month-old German Shepherd, following a statement municipal staff received from a Richters employee claiming she was bitten. The dog was purchased by the business about a year ago as a "visual deterrent" for would-be robbers. Mr. Richter told councillors his business has been robbed over the years, including two days in a row earlier this year. But he stressed the dog is well-trained and is "not a guard dog." Since the order, Mr. Richter has "to coop (the dog) up in my house" to comply. "Without an investigation, this opens the system up to abuse," he said. A former employee of Richters, Amanda Barber, was not present at the May 12 hearing but has submitted a victim statement to the Township outlining she was bitten by Tiger on March 12. The employee was fired March 14 and the bylaw department was notified of the bite the same day, those on hand heard. "We let her go and then the complaint happened," said Mr. Richter. He said the worker was let go due to performance issues and because Richters staff could not confirm if she would be comfortable working near the animal while her supervisor was away on vacation. The Township would not release the victim statement, based on advice from its solicitor, and Ms. Barber could not be reached for comment. During the appeal hearing, Rhonda Bishop, municipal prosecutor, said the employee "reported she had been bitten and drawn blood." But Katherine Chow, a Region public health inspector, said the dog was quarantined and checked over following the incident. "We just want to make sure the dog is healthy," said Ms. Chow, who added there is no doctor's report and "we don't have any indication there was any bite." But Ms. Bishop explained there doesn't need to be harm inflicted by an animal for the incident to be considered an attack. "Interference (from a dog) counts as an attack," she said. Debbie Leroux, Uxbridge's clerk who also oversees animal control for the municipality, said the restraining order was issued based on the victim statement. The same procedure would be followed whether the incident occurred at a business or a residence, she said. "We issue quite a number of (orders) in a year," said Ms. Leroux. Appeals against animal restraining orders are rare, noted the clerk, and only one appeal is granted per case. If the appellant loses their case, the order is upheld indefinitely, she explained. If the animal is deemed dangerous, the dog can be ordered to be put down by the owner under the Dog Owners' Liability Act. If the owner refuses, officials can have the animal destroyed under the same act, she said. Bites to humans from dogs, cats or ferrets should be reported to the Region, said Durham health department spokesperson Glendene Collins. Following the claim of a bite, "The animal is (under) a confinement order issued for 10 days at the owner's home," said Ms. Collins. Also during the 10-day term the Region will determine if the animal's immunizations are up to date, and if not, the owner has 14 days after the end of the confinement period to comply. If the animal still doesn't have the proper shots by that time, the owner can be charged under the Rabies Immunization Regulation. "Our responsibility (at the Region) is to (determine) risk of infectious disease," she said. If the animal that reportedly bit someone cannot be located in 48 hours from the time of the incident, the victim receives a letter advising they should seek follow-up treatment as a precaution. Ms. Collins said the Region received 1,163 reports of animal bites last year. Uxbridge council will hold another hearing to allow Ms. Barber to be present, but a date has not yet been set.