Cambridge man can't sue owner of aggressive dog after city refuses information request

Rob Stevens wants to sue the owner of a dog that attacked and nearly killed his husky-collie mix, Budd.

But he can't because the city of Cambridge is refusing to provide the contact details of the owner— an owner whose pet had already been cited by police as potentially dangerous, ticketed and put under numerous conditions.

From a common sense perspective and as part of a community that hopefully wants to look out for each other, I don't think this is what we want our government officials doing.-  Lawyer Gordon Harris

"If you're in a car accident, you're required to give the other party your driver license number, all of that stuff. What's the difference between a dog and a car?"  Stevens, said of the attack and the city's decision.

But Stevens said he has hit roadblocks. The City of Cambridge has provided him with the name of the other dog's owner, but not the man's address or any way to contact him, citing privacy legislation.

Stevens would like to sue the other dog's owner to cover veterinary bills, but can't until he can inform the man he is being sued. He has appealed the decision to the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

"So now I'm in a holding pattern where nobody's helping me," he said.

87 puncture wounds and two surgeries

Stevens said his wife was walking Budd around 6 p.m. on June 7 on Guelph Avenue in Cambridge when a Mastiff breed, a dog he later learned was named Dexter, broke free of where it was tied to a trailer in the front yard of a home.

In the police report, Natalia Panyushkina said she was walking Budd when she heard a dog growl.

"The dog started to shake my dog. The leash was pulled from my hand," she told police.

Traffic on the busy road stopped and a man got out of his car to help. He pulled on the rope holding Dexter, while she grabbed Budd's leash and they were finally able to separate the two dogs.

Stevens said Budd had 87 puncture wounds and needed to go through two surgeries. The staff at the Animal Hospital of Cambridge did not charge him for the second surgery, but the bills for Budd's care alone are more than $1,400.

Stevens said he is also out money from time off work to take care of Budd.

And he thinks the other dog's owner should have to pay.

City does not have to provide information

Shawn Falcao, the City of Cambridge's acting manager of communications, said the city's manager of information management and archives did not provide Dexter's owner's contact information because it qualifies for exemption under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act section 38(b).

Trell Huether, a senior communications advisor with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, said victims can appeal those decisions to that office.

Huether said the office "has a number of public decisions which have dealt with information related to dog owners" including one recent case where Toronto Police did not provide any information to a dog owner whose pet was attacked by another dog. That woman appealed that decision, and the privacy commissioner agreed to give her the other dog owner's name, but not any other information like a phone number or address.

Process doesn't help victims

Kitchener personal injury lawyer Gordon Harris said he is concerned privacy legislation is going too far and it further victimizes people.

People like Stevens are "forced to go through all of these hoops because of privacy legislation, privacy legislation that in my mind gives the municipalities discretion [to release more information] that they refuse to exercise. They would rather have a privacy commissioner on appeal make that decision for them," Harris said.

My dog is 75 pounds, my kid is 38. I'm pretty sure my kid wouldn't survive.- Rob Steven, dog owner

"From a common sense perspective and as part of a community that hopefully wants to look out for each other, I don't think this is what we want our government officials doing," he added.

"If someone is a victim of someone else's behaviour – whether it's owning and not securing a vicious dog that may maul an animal or a person, or somebody who's driving their vehicle recklessly – if you're a victim of somebody else's reckless behaviour then I think, as a society, we want to be able to address those issues and help correct people's behaviour in the future and anything that prevents us from doing that is not a good thing for our community."

'My kid wouldn't survive'

Police notes indicate the home where the attack occurred was not where Dexter's owner lived, he was visiting a friend at the time. 

In his own Freedom of Information request, Stevens learned that Waterloo Regional Police had deemed Dexter a "potentially dangerous dog" in January after it acted aggressively towards "a person or domestic animal" and had placed a number of restrictions on the dog's owner.

That included muzzling Dexter at all times off his property, that he be licensed, be neutered, be given the rabies vaccine and the owner needed to obtain $1,000,000 liability insurance.

After the attack on June 7, Dexter's owner was handed nine tickets and fined a total of $1,665 plus $360 for a victims surcharge fee for failing to comply with those orders.

"This dog was already listed as a dangerous dog. Are they not doing anything about this particular dangerous dog," Stevens said. "He nearly ended my dog's life. But I have a four-year-old son that lives in that neighbourhood and he could have actually walked by that same location and suffered the same attack. My dog is 75 pounds, my kid is 38. I'm pretty sure my kid wouldn't survive."