Majority of northern dog bites occurring in La Loche
La Loche is leading the way when it comes to the number of dog bites in off-reserve northern communities.
That’s according to data received by larongeNOW from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, which shows there were 54 dog bites in La Loche in 2018 compared to 32 in all 19 other communities in the North. Between 2009 and 2018, there were 558 dog bites in La Loche with a total of 979 for all of northern Saskatchewan. It is because of those kind of numbers why La Loche Coun. Stephen King stated leadership was looking to take drastic measures to control the local stray dog population earlier this month.
“We have the dog bites to prove we have a problem and I hate to say it, but I think a number of those dog bites are from animals people have claimed as pets,” King, who also sits as chairperson of the Community Safety Board, said. “We cancelled the dog cull partly because of the horrific things people were saying about us as a people in La Loche, which simply is not true. The people in La Loche are good people like anywhere. The problem we have has been a historic problem and we are trying to find a way to solve the problem once and for all.”
When the village announced the dog cull a couple of weeks ago, several news outlets picked up the story which resulted in many comments on social media. King noted the majority of people, unless they have spent time living in La Loche, don’t know the issues residents are faced with. In a historical sense when La Loche was a smaller place, he added it wasn’t a priority to restrain pets as their main purpose at the time was mostly for work.