There is an ongoing problem of dog fights and wandering dogs at William Konkin Elementary School, endangering the children on the playground and raising safety concerns.
Burns Lake locals have posted their concerns on social media about incidents of dogs being a nuisance. One incident involved four to five dogs scrapping at William Konkin Elementary School, which scared the kids and raised safety concerns. Instead of being able to play outside, the children were brought indoors to ensure their safety.
Robert Krause, Village of Burns Lake director of protective services and fire chief, said staff have contacted the school, and the municipality is working to implement a plan. “Increased presence by the bylaw officer and potentially other staff, at the start of the school day, and at noon hour to deter unwanted animals on school property, is planned for the return to classes after the spring break,” Krause said.
He said the municipality is also conducting a public information campaign to inform residents about the growing problem of wandering dogs.
According to Krause, the bylaw officer and other staff have attended the school on numerous occasions in response to requests from the school. “The bylaw officer is not an animal control officer, nor is he a dog catcher, but is responsible for these activities and all other aspects of Bylaw enforcement. It is only a part-time position with approximately 16 hours per week dedicated to all aspects of the Village Bylaw program,” Krause said.
Krause stated that the problem dogs involved at William Konkin Elementary School weren’t captured. “It is not easy to identify who the owners are,” Krause said.
In addition, he said that many dogs within the municipality were not licenced by their owners. This is a separate issue that the village is trying to resolve.
“Without a tag number, we cannot identify the dog owner, even if we capture it. One dog was identified by its owner through Facebook, and occasionally, students can identify the dogs. When this happens, the owners are notified,” Krause said.