Montreal's Dog Related By-law: What You Need To Know

The summer of 2016 proved to be an eventful one for dog owners in the urban community of Montreal. Debates raged in the wake of a proposed ban on pit bulls or - to be more truthful: dogs of the “pit bull-type”. The resulting by-law aims to, by all accounts, phase out the ownership of dogs that fall into this category. It is set to be put in place as of September 26, 2016. With all this in mind, the city of Montreal means to double-up on what it deems as "responsible canine ownership". For this reason, we decided to showcase some important aspects surrounding this by-law and what it entails to own a dog in the city of Montreal.

According to the city of Montreal, most pets on the island are unregistered simply due to lack of information. In effect, Anie Samson, VP of Montreal’s executive committee, claims that only 14% of the city’s 150,000 dogs are registered. What the city wants you to know is you are obliged to do so.

Here’s what you have to do: first, you must establish exactly what borough you live in and find your access point. Every borough has a different fee, some are even higher if your animal is not spayed/neutered. That being said, the city aims to have all its animal population both sterilized and microchipped by 2019. Luckily, the city has a pretty comprehensive website set up for any in depth questions about the topic.

Upon registration, pet owners receive a little medal engraved with their registration number. The city maintains that this process allows for the animal to avoid being checked into a shelter in the offhand chance that it is lost. That being said, the registration process is annual and mandatory, and the medal must be worn by your animal at all times. Failure to do so may result in fines. In fact, the proposed by-law is to be enforced by animal inspectors operating chiefly in the morning, at night and on the weekends in the general vicinity of dog parks.

What else?

There are additional aspects to this tightened animal control by-law. For instance, the obligation to have your dog in a harness or halter if its weight is equal to or exceeds 20 kilograms. Also, every household will only be able to house a maximum of two dogs, with special permits allocated to owners that desire to have three dogs. Furthermore, dogs must be on leashes that are no longer than 1.85 meters.

The proposed law aims to tighten animal control in a citywide fashion, all the while putting in place a system for the gradual fade out of the ownership of certain breeds. This is because, as of September 26th, pit bull-type dogs will not be allowed on the island. Current owners of pit bulls will be allowed to keep their dogs with a special permit and by keeping their dogs muzzled in public. With this in mind, the Montreal SPCA has voiced its stance on the matter and urges citizens to find a global inclusive approach to cohabitation under the banner “Safer, Kinder Communities”.