With several instances recently, complaints surrounding dogs in town have become a common call for the Biggar RCMP. The most recent canine call for the detachment unfortunately took a turn for the worse, as an escaped Great Dane attacked a Biggar resident, causing what police described as "significant injuries".

Unsure exactly why there has been an uptick in dog related calls, Biggar detachment commander Sgt. Dereck Crozier commented on the situation.

"There has been a lot complaints of aggressive dogs, and dogs that are just escaping yards and things like that. That's kind of what prompted it all, and now of course we have something that became more serious."

Crozier then re-iterated his message (below) from the original article that dog owners are ultimately responsible for their animal's actions.

 "The majority of dogs are good until they are not, and although accidents happen, ultimately as an owner you are responsible for your dog and controlling it at all times, otherwise you may find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit and answering for the damages caused by your animal in civil court."

Even a good dog can turn bad.

"In this situation a majority of dog owners, and we hear it time and time again, they say well my dog is really good, never bites, and its never happened before."

The latest incident leading to injury is a scenario nobody ever wants to see. Crozier confirmed the five different calls surrounding loose dogs were in their latest calls to service, and that it's going to take a community effort to curb the problem.

"We do encourage people to keep reporting, though a lot of the dog complaints that do come in are not criminal in nature. They are just something we have to look at, and help people work through as a community and figure out what the best course of action is," said Crozier. "We encourage people to keep their dogs leashed and things like that, especially in public areas. Check the yard once in a while, make sure that the animal can't get out, or isn't digging under the fence. Make sure you don't have loose boards and things like that."

Dogs running free aren't the only furry reports the detachment receives.

"We do have calls of noise complaints, persistent barking and things like that." said Crozier, comparing it to any other noise complaint. He also added that fido could have a reason for their excessive noise. "That being said, sometimes there is a reason the dog is barking. It should be checked out to make sure that you don't have somebody hiding in the shadows, people that shouldn't be around your yard."

That's still not the issue at hand. Crozier doubled-down on the fact that all dog owners must keep their dogs secure at home.

"There has been a lot of dogs reported at-large, and that's what has prompted a lot of the complaints." he said. "These dogs are a larger breed. They are barking, feel aggressive, and people are intimidated by them. It just happens that now unfortunately we have to look after and deal with one of these dogs that has actually bitten somebody, and quite seriously."

Trauma is another factor in a situation like this.

"Luckily enough it wasn't serious enough to be debilitating, say in a sense, but this person will most likely be scared of dogs and animals, no matter what size for quite some time I imagine." said Crozier, putting himself in the victim's shoes.

Being responsible is perhaps the biggest part of being a pet owner. Crozier hopes the above words will work to reinforce this, and lead to a safer Biggar for everyone.