Ontario’s Dogs Deserve Better - And We’re Fighting to Make It Happen
Ontario has no province-wide law protecting dogs from being left outside without adequate shelter, food, water, or human interaction. Here’s what the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA is doing to change that.
Most of us can’t imagine leaving our dogs outside alone without food, water, or shelter. But in Ontario, there is no province-wide law that clearly prevents it - and thousands of dogs across the province are paying the price.
At the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA, we believe every dog deserves adequate shelter, care, and companionship. And we are calling on the Ontario government to make that a legal standard, not just a moral one.
The Problem
.jpg)
Ontario’s Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act - known as the PAWS Act - sets some standards for dogs kept outdoors. But protections vary significantly by municipality, leaving thousands of dogs without consistent legal safeguards. Under current rules, it is legal to leave a dog outside for 23.5 hours a day as long as certain basic conditions are met. What constitutes adequate shelter, water, and care is inconsistently defined and inconsistently enforced across the province.
Dogs are social animals. Prolonged outdoor isolation without adequate care causes serious psychological harm, increases aggression, and puts animals at risk of injury and neglect. Every day without a clear provincial standard is another day a dog somewhere in Ontario is suffering needlessly.
Why This Matters Now
Ontario has made meaningful strides for animals in recent years - banning ear cropping, declawing, devocalization, and invasive medical research on dogs and cats. But the standards protecting dogs left outdoors have not kept pace. While some municipalities have strong bylaws, others have little or nothing. A dog’s legal protection should not depend on which side of a municipal boundary they live on.
What We Are Asking For
At the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA, we are calling on Premier Doug Ford and Solicitor General Michael Kerzner to amend the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act to introduce clear, enforceable province-wide standards that protect dogs from being left outside without adequate shelter, food, water, or human interaction.
Because every dog deserves adequate shelter, care, and companionship - no matter where in Ontario they live.
