Sask. dog owner says residents of Allan ran him out of town

The owner of a pack of dogs that drew the ire of residents of Allan, Sask. says he was run out of town after his neighbours grew fearful of his beloved pets.

Jacob Hanson co-owns eight dogs with his father and says they each took four dogs and left the town weeks ago after anger towards them built over the summer. With nowhere else to turn, Hanson said their only option was to leave the community.

"We were condemned. We didn't grow up there. They never gave us a chance because if they did, they would see that we're kind. We just love our dogs, and we were willing to just do whatever it took," Hanson said.

Over the spring and summer, residents in Allan became increasingly fearful after a string of dog attacks.

The RCMP said it received six reports about a group of dogs in the town since April, but said no bites have been reported. In consultation with Crown prosecutors, the RCMP said the incidents are bylaw-related, not criminal.

Hanson said a faulty fence is the reason the dogs kept getting loose. He says he takes full responsibility for the fear in town, but says the dogs are not aggressive. They bark and get excited often, but they have never bitten anyone or any dog, he says.

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"We weren't letting the dogs run loose in the town," he said.

"The days they did get out was the worst days of my life. Like, they were the most terrifying, anxiety-ridden, stressful moments I've ever had."

Hanson said he attempted to approach his neighbour about rebuilding the fence, but the neighbour declined. He said the town wouldn't allow him to build the fence the way him and his father wanted, and each time the dogs escaped, bylaw tickets were handed out — each with hefty fines attached.

"The thousands and thousands of dollars of bylaw tickets did not help the cause at all. And no, they don't want a solution. They're wanting to just get the pitchforks and condemn us," Hanson said.

However, Allan's bylaw committee chairperson says bylaws can be difficult to enforce, since there is no bylaw court in town. With provincial courts clogged under an increasingly heavy caseload, many bylaw infractions go unresolved.

"I don't think that even our town council was aware of the gravity of the situation for us until we started looking around, until I started calling everybody we knew to find out that our bylaws are basically a piece of paper," Gloria Stefanson said.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre announced changes to the justice system intended to allow smaller communities to enforce bylaws by introducing "bylaw court hub models" across Saskatchewan.

Currently, bylaw courts only exist in Kindersley, North Battleford, Saskatoon and Regina.

"I think it's just really easing the ability and enabling municipalities to enforce bylaws which are important to them, such as we're seeing with vicious dogs," Eyre said, pointing towards recent events in Allan.

Stefanson said she'd like to be excited about potentially getting a bylaw court, but she sees Thursday's announcement as nothing more than a pre-election campaign announcement.

"I'm not even cautiously optimistic," she said. "I would like to speak to the ministers and see exactly what's held them up for three years. And why now?"

After making calls about getting the province to enforce bylaws since the RCMP wouldn't, Stefanson eventually learned the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) had been lobbying the province in a similar manner since 2021.

Stefanson said her number was blocked by the Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety's office because of her persistence.

She feels the province made the announcement because the stray dogs in Allan became a topic of conversation after extensive media coverage the last few weeks.

"It's a basic need for us," Stefanson said. "Bigger communities have this service — we don't. And I don't believe for one minute that one of our options, we believe, is to rally the communities around us to share the costs of a bylaw committee."

Stefanson is waiting to see how next month's election will affect the implementation of bylaw court hubs and when they would be operational, as Allan residents look to put the dog days of summer behind them.

Hanson is eager to move forward with his life.

"The house is completely empty. No one lives there, and we don't plan on ever going back," he said.