Who let the dogs out? That’s what Beauval mayor Nick Daigneault would like to know following a recent influx in dogs running at large throughout the northern village. “This pack is only getting worse, fighting up and down the roads and in people’s yards – dogs are getting chewed up,” Daigneault recently shared via social media. When contacted by Northern Pride, Daigneault said situations such as this often happen in cycles. “Especially when those pet owners who have a female dog they’re not leashing or keeping contained to their yard goes into heat,” Daigneault added. “The dogs start packing and roaming the community. This is essentially what happens every so often and – in spite of us reaching out to the owners – they’re quite often dismissive or have kind of ‘given up’ as in they don’t know what to do. Or, they’re a bit older and can’t go and grab the dog to bring it and contain to their yard.”

The mayor also said it doesn’t help to not have an animal control officer to help address the issue. “We have a bylaw in place, and a procedure and system for people to register their pet and tag it, but, with no enforcement officer, the whole system is all for naught,” Daigneault said. “In the past, we contracted an agency out of Battleford for enforcement, but they’ve changed their nature of business and we’re no longer able to use them.” As a result, Daigneault said the community has relied heavily on the public to help with the dog situation. “We used to rely on community members to step up and control the situation, but we’re at the point where no one wants to,” he stated. “I’m not sure if it’s because they don’t want to or if they’re scared of retaliation from the pet owner if they apprehend the dog and the owner decides to lash out on the person just trying to get the animal off the street. It feels like a catch 22 sometimes.”

The village has been in contact with animal rescue agencies in the past, but this too has failed to yield results. “We have been in contact with rescues in the past, as we also have with this (current) situation, but they all come back with the same message – rescues/shelters around Saskatchewan are at capacity and cannot rescue too many dogs,” Daigneault said. However, Daigneault did note an animal rescue group planned to visit Beauval to apprehend two dogs known to be strays because their previous owners have either moved away or have chosen to surrender their pet.

“I wish we had a regional solution (to dogs at large),” he continued. “I did bring this up at last year’s Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) convention saying, as northern municipalities, one topic I wish they’d bring to the convention is a solution on animal control and understanding bylaws and enforcement. I haven’t looked at this year’s agenda yet (the 2024 SUMA convention is scheduled for April 14-17 in Regina) but I’m curious if they have added something on there. There are a number of municipalities in the northwest that would gladly be supportive of a northwest animal rescue/shelter. In the end, however, responsible pet ownership is key. We want to be supportive as a municipality, but having so many pet owners letting their animals run loose complicates our lives and ability to keep the streets safe.”