Don’t let dogs run wild, owners warned
Published on: Friday, November 26, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
Taman Southern residents are frustrated with this dog using their housing road as its toilet.
DOG-OWNERS have been reminded to close their front gates after them, when driving out of their homes, to ensure that their pets do not run out into the common areas around their neighbourhood.A spokesman for City Hall’s Health and Environment Department said the agency had received feedback from certain quarters about canines becoming a public nuisance on some housing roads around Kota Kinabalu.
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The dogs chased pedestrians and cyclists or made a mess by tipping over bins and soiling the road-shoulder with their excretions, according to her.
“They were licenced pets and not strays, in most cases, which means that this hassle could have been avoided if only their owners had been more mindful of what their dogs were getting up to,” she said.
“Many canine-owners either let their pets just run out to ease themselves in the public spaces or couldn’t be bothered about stopping their vehicle to close their gates when they drove out of their homes.”
A Luyang resident sprained her wrist after she fell while trying to get away from some dogs in the Foh Sang area a few years ago.
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She urged these individuals to heed City Hall’s call to keep their dogs on a leash, or at least supervise their canines, while their pets were wandering in public areas.
“When they leave their homes, they should exercise some common sense and not just drive off. They should get down from their vehicles and lock their gates behind them.
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“Those with an automatic gate should wait for it to close properly before going on their way.”
The spokeswoman said the agency had instructed dog-owners, time and time again, to keep their pets within their compounds and accompany any canines roaming about outside.
“In cases where their pets escape through the gaps in their gate or holes in their fence, they have been told to seal these holes.”
The spokeswoman said a Taman Selesa homeowner was recently told to double-up his efforts to prevent his dogs from squeezing through the space between the bars in his front gate.
“He placed some wire mesh towards the bottom of the gate but this material was tied to the bars with bits of plastic which could easily come away.
“We have asked him to secure the mesh with more durable attachments.”
A Kepayan home-owner’s dogs were squeezing through the bars in the front gate.
She said the individual was also asked to relocate a third dog in keeping as he was only allowed to rear two canines at any one time.
“He informed us that the extra pet belonged to a friend and would be returned to its owner.
“The rate-payer also assured us that he would have his female dog neutered a she had just given birth again.
“He agreed to find the puppies homes once they were four-months old and had stopped nursing.”
The spokeswoman said the dog-owner had stood by his word to City Hall.
“We learned a month later that only two adult canines remained in his care and that their owner had been taking steps to minimise the nuisance created by his pets.
“Our staff will continue to make periodic checks of the housing road to ensure that the public is not unduly inconvenienced by his pets.”
Meanwhile, City Hall is arranging to speak with a Luyang dog-owner whose dog has been roaming about unsupervised on Lorong Unta 11.
The canine apparently growls at pedestrians and has been chasing after cyclists who come to deliver food in this part of Taman Southern. It has also been urinating and defecating on the road-shoulders outside homes there.
The spokeswoman said its staff would have to determine whether the dog had been registered with the agency.
“If it is not, then the owner will be asked to get a licence for his/ her pet,” she said.
“He/ She will be reminded of our ‘dos and don’ts’ when it comes to rearing dogs and asked to abide by these conditions.”
She said the individual would be given a grace-period to comply with City Hall’s instructions.
“If the nuisance still persists after this the further action will be taken against the dog-owner.”
RUBINA of Luyang said she dared not go for a walk on the housing road for fear of being bitten by the dog which she described as being “aggressive”.
“A few years ago, I fell while trying to get away from some dogs which had run out of a house in Foh Sang,” she said.
“An elderly passer-by came to my rescue and chased away the canines with his umbrella. If not I might have been mauled.”
Nevertheless, she sprained her wrist and bruised one of her thighs as a result of what happened.
Rubina hoped the dog-owner in Taman Southern would be more concerned about the whereabouts of his/ her pet.
“The home-owner shouldn’t allow the dog to wander about unsupervised since it is so fierce.
“The individual should have the common sense to close the front gate of his/ her house when he/ she leaves so that the canine doesn’t escape onto the housing road by itself.”
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