Dog complaints

A bylaw officer assigned to your file will be in touch with you once the following information is provided:

1. Your name, address and daytime contact information. We do not accept anonymous reports, but your information and identity are kept strictly confidential.
2. The address where the dog has been observed barking. Please include whether it is in the back, front, side yard or in the house.
3. A description of the dog – colour, breed, size (if known). If the dog cannot be seen, please note whether the barking sounds like a smaller or larger breed.
4. The name of dog owners and/or dog (if known).
5. Anything details about the yard or house, so we can assure the dog owners we have the correct address.
6. A bark log with records of incidents over a 3 to 5 day period unless there are severe circumstances in which case the process may be accelerated.

The standard for excessive barking, howling or yelping is 5 minutes of continuous noise or 15 minutes of sporadic noise.

If you know of other neighbours who are impacted by excessive barking, encouraged them to log incidents and file a complaint as well. Often more than one complainant is required to move forward with enforcement action.

Once you have compiled the necessary information and submitted the barking dog complaint form, you will get an email confirming your submission with an enforcement file number.

When you file a complaint with us, your personal information is kept confidential and is not revealed to the dog owner, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. It is important for us to have your information on file to give validity to the complaint and to assist our officers in effectively dealing with your concerns. Anonymous complaints are not accepted.

One exception to confidentiality is if there is court action as a result of your complaint. In these cases, the accused is entitled to full disclosure of the file for the purpose of preparing their defense. As required by law, a complaintant's personal information must be revealed, along with the officer's notes and findings, to the accused or their counsel. Staff will always discuss this with you in advance.

An enforcement file will be created in priority order and assigned to an officer who will make contact with the dog owner to address the noisy dog complaint.

For best results, it is essential for you to continue to monitor the matter for several days to provide feedback to the officer as to whether the situation is better, worse or the same. This will enable the officer to continue to work toward a satisfactory solution on your behalf.

Should you have any questions or concerns or want to update the status of the barking during this process, please contact the officer for clarification by calling 250-469-6284.

Finally, an officer will contact you to advise when the enforcement file is concluded.

If a noisy dog fine is issued, the dog owner may dispute the ticket. It may proceed to adjudication. Experience has shown that Adjudicators rely on more than one complainant's testimony/witness statements to ensure this is not a personal neighbour-to-neighbour dispute.