The Good News - Burnaby council will soon adopt an anti-dog tethering bylaw.

The Bad News - It permits 24 hour a day tethering a day as long as the dog is "attended". Even though AAS asked for a definition of "attended, there still isn't one, so "attended" could mean permanent tethering is permitted as long as an adult is present somewhere on the property.

And it does not prevent dogs from being penned or caged or garaged instead of tied.

After reading the staff report that was sent to council on January 9th, AAS attended council and raised three main concerns: the lack of a definition of "attended"; the probability that dogs will be penned, caged, or garaged instead of tethered; and the lack of protection for car-lot dogs. (Read AAS's Jan 9th report to council [with photos of Burnaby yard dogs] http://animaladvocates.com/yard-dogs/burnaby/aas-report-jan9-06.pdf )

Staff's incomplete report was drafted by Burnaby City staff with expert opinion from the BC SPCA, specifically the Burnaby branch of the SPCA which is the City of Burnaby's dog control contractor. Perhaps City staff could have sent a better report to council had it had better information from the BC SPCA, the agency that has more knowledge and information about yard dogs than any other, and which prides itself on its education programs. On January 9th, AAS told the Mayor and council that we had the evidence to prove our concerns that dogs that can't be tethered are sometimes then kept in pens and garages, but staff did not ask us for that proof. The SPCA has the proof itself, in the ongoing complaints to it about the dog Coco, who, after the SPCA investigated complaints that she was on a rope for a year, was put on a rope in the garage. Coco's owner told AAS that the SPCA had told him that putting Coco in the garage was okay and the SPCA confirmed that opinion by telling us the same thing.

Did the SPCA tell City staff that AAS was perfectly correct about the probability that dogs who can't be tethered might be penned or garaged instead? Did it tell staff about the plight of Coco, imprisoned 23 hours a day in a dim garage on a 4' rope? If staff were told by the SPCA, why didn't staff tell the Mayor and council that AAS was right - that a bylaw that only prevents tethering can result in even worse lives for dogs?

Without asking AAS for its proof, staff rewrote the report presented on January 9th and sent it back to council on February 13th ( http://www.animaladvocates.com/yard-dogs/burnaby/staff-report-feb-13-06.pdf )

The report to council on Feb 13th addressed the car-lot dogs issue. Car-lot dogs are dogs that guard businesses such as car lots, junk yards, lumber yards, equipment yards etc. The January 9th report clearly permitted businesses to keep dogs tethered all day (while there are employees in "attendance"). Staff corrected this oversight in its final February 13th report by recommending that the bylaw contain "a provision to prohibit the tethering of dogs kept at businesses". This appears to be only good news, except that - as we informed the Mayor and council - most business keep their guard dogs in pens during the day and loose at night, and this bylaw does nothing to prevent that.

The SPCA was asked for input in drafting this report. It seems to have not provided the evidence it has that would have supported AAS's concerns. Perhaps if it had, Burnaby's penned, caged, and garaged dogs would have a bylaw that would protect them too.