Question of the day...

Today's question... is it a violation of the city's leash laws if one end of the leash is attached to the dog's collar and the other end is in it's mouth?

Interesting question. Here's why I ask it: Today I went out at lunch time to run an errand. In my travels I was passed by a large Alsatian-type dog (a cross... not sure what with) trotting demurely down the street with a leash attached to it's collar. The other end of the leash was not in the hand of the man walking behind the dog, but was rather in the dog's mouth. Now, yes, they were headed to a park that may be a leash-free zone (I haven't checked, although it wasn't a couple of years ago), but they were, at that point, still on the street/sidewalk.


The official answer? Yes, it's a violation. Because in spite of the much spoken "dogs must be on a leash except on private property or in designated 'off-leash' areas of city parks" ... the actual restriction is this:
Dogs running at large.
A. No owner of a dog shall cause or permit the dog to run at large in the City, except as
permitted in those areas of City parks where dogs are permitted to run at large as
designated by City by-law.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, a dog shall be deemed to be running at large when found in any place other than the premises of the owner of the dog and not under the control of any person.
C. No person shall keep a dog off the premises of the owner other than on a leash
which shall not exceed two metres in length except where consent is given by the
person owning the property where the dog is found.

This lesson has been brought to you by the letter D and the number 31.

Have a great long weekend folks!