Stray dogs raise safety fears in Ross River

Residents in the small Yukon community of Ross River say they're worried about the number of dogs running loose in the community, with some fearing it's just a matter of time before the dogs seriously injure or kill someone.

At least three people, including one child, have been bitten by dogs over the past few weeks in the community of 313.

"It was fairly deep, about a half an inch deep. It hurt, yeah," said Rose Chapman, one of the dog bite victims, showing a puncture wound in her calf.

"People are nervous walking around and stuff because there's quite a few large dogs that are running around. Like the last while, there has been a few dogs that have bitten people here recently."

Since Ross River is an unincorporated community, there is no municipal government to take responsibility for local issues.

The Yukon government promised in August to hire a rural dogcatcher, but residents say they have yet to see a dogcatcher or any government response to the community's dog problem.

"If they're mean like that and bite, they should have a muzzle on or they should be put down before they hurt someone," Chapman said.

'So many dogs here'

At the Ross River Dena store, a bulletin dated mid-April from the local Ross River Dena Council states that all loose dogs will be taken to an animal shelter in Whitehorse.

"I tied up my dogs but they need to run around," said Doreen Ladue, while her two dogs wandered around with other dogs outside the store.

"If you keep them tied up too long, they get mean. That's how this one was. He was starting to get mean, so I let him loose for a while."

Resident Dorothy Smith urged the Ross River Dena Council to take action soon, even if it means destroying the loose dogs like they've done before.

Smith said some people are driving their children to school, but she's still worried about the children she sees walking down the streets alone.

"A lot of people got bit but there's nothing been done. The dogs aren't destroyed," she said.

"There's so many dogs here that I'm just afraid that there's going to be a funeral very soon. So it's really been a lot of fear."