SURREY - Careless dog owners had better think twice about how they treat their pet now that the City of Surrey has introduced tougher bylaws around animal responsibility.
Following changes made to the city's dog responsibility bylaw at the June 23 council meeting, owners who now leave their dogs in hot vehicles or loose in the back of pickup trucks can be fined $500 anywhere in Surrey.The bylaw amendments now give animal control officers greater powers to hand out on-the-spot fines to careless owners while maintaining the ability to further escalate punitive charges through the courts.The new policy also comes a month after six dogs in Langley died after being left in the back of a truck during a hot day.While bylaw enforcement officers are still unable to remove pets from vehicles under any circumstances, as only the BC SPCA or RCMP are able to do so, the new policies make it easier for city enforcement to dole out fines if any of the following conditions are breached:. Adequate ventilation must exist anywhere a dog is confined, such as in a vehicle. Dogs must be transported in a safe manner that prevents their injury. Dogs cannot be tied up wearing a choke collar. Dogs cannot spend more than four hours per 24-hour period tethered Amy Morris, a policy and outreach officer for the BC SPCA said the bylaw change comes as welcome news and expects the care of pets in Surrey to change for the better."I'm really excited and glad to see that the by-laws acknowledge the fact that animals need adequate care and that adequate care needs to happen quickly," she said.Last fall, Surrey council introduced a four-hour tethering policy that was decried by animal advocates as "useless" and "unenforceable."At least now, Morris said people are more likely to be more cognizant about how they transport and care for their dogs."To be able to issue a fine right away really changes compliance. People will be much more likely to be compliant with the bylaw now," she said.