In the past month and a half, two habitual Crippen Park joggers who happen to be married, Sue Hern and Jerry Hern, had the unfortunate experience of being bitten by a dog in the park. As it was a black and white Collie on both occasions, they believe it was the same dog. Sue Hern says that while she spoke with the dog’s owner, she did not get the owner’s name.
Sue reported the incident to Bylaw Services, who proceeded to put her in contact with Metro Vancouver Parks - as Crippen Park is technically their jurisdiction.
Tom McComb, the Acting Area Manager for Regional Parks, West Area, says that Metro Parks investigates reported incidents and deals with them on a case by case basis.
“We do fine dog owners but we prefer an educational approach,” says McComb. “Dog management and making sure dog owners get the message about how they need to behave is one of our biggest challenges at Metro Parks. However, since setting up the off-leash area in Crippen Park in 2013, there does seem to be more compliance with our leash-laws.”
McComb says that since 2013, there have been roughly 2 – 3 reports of encounters with aggressive dogs in Crippen Park each year.
Bonny Brokenshire, Bowen’s Senior Bylaw Officer, says that while this average seems accurate, there have been 6 reports of encounters with aggressive dogs in Crippen Park since the beginning of 2015.Four of those have resulted in harm to either another dog or a human.
“Often people report these incidents to us first, even though it is not Municipal land,” says Brokenshire. “I will pass them on to Metro Vancouver to make a report but I also follow up on the incident by contacting Metro Vancouver staff who work on Bowen - sometimes they will be familiar with the dog or owner on the basis of description.”
Brokenshire adds that being aware of these incidents is important to the Municipality because most often, the dogs involved reside on-island.
“We want to know if there is a dog on-island that we should be deeming as dangerous,” says Brokenshire. “And we like to work with Metro Vancouver on this kind of thing, we have a good working relationship.”
In the cases of Sue and Jerry Hern, Brokenshire says that Metro Vancouver Staff were not familiar with either the dog or the owner, based on the descriptions provided.
Metro Vancouver Parks Canine Code of Conduct
- Keep your dog under control in all places at all times. Dogs must be leashed, unless in a designated off-leash area or on a designated leash-optional trail.
- Scoop your dog’s poop and deposit the bag in a designated container (not the forest). Leave all trails as clean—or cleaner—than when you arrived.
- Respect wildlife and their habitat—you and your dog are in their home.
- Keep your dog out of streams, creeks, ponds, wetlands and shorelines. A variety of wildlife lives in these areas including fish, frogs, salamanders and birds.
- Keep your dog from digging or causing damage.
- Yield the right-of-way to other hikers. Keep your dog close and under control as others pass by. Yield the right-of-way to equestrians. Say hello so riders know you are there, and keep your dog close, quiet and under control as horses pass by.
- Always be courteous. Don’t give other trail users any reason to complain. Set an example by being a conscientious owner with a well-behaved dog enjoying the trails.
