Two weeks ago we shared our petition about keeping Sherbourne Common usable for everyone with Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik (who represents our ward) as well as Mayor Olivia Chow's office. We received a response from Deputy Mayor Malik's office this week, letting us know that she was horrified by the off leash dog attack (at nearby Little Norway Park) and recognized the growing problem. Here is an excerpt of her office's response, regarding the safety of our park with so many off-leash dogs:

"We know that this is an escalated issue across the city and that City Council has been taking this very seriously.  This past week, Council approved a motion from Councillor Fletcher to create a public listing of dangerous dogs, ensure that all are in compliance with our by-laws, and move to proactive enforcement. In the third quarter of 2024, there will be a report back on a city-wide approach to Dog-Off-Leash Areas.

In the meantime, our office is taking feedback about the use of Sherbourne Common and will communicate with residents about approaches that are being taken in this neighbourhood to address complaints, and about the planning of our public park spaces for all users. I will be in touch with you on this matter."

This is a win! And an important step in making sure we can all enjoy the park for years to come, without being bitten & scratched, having our sports equipment destroyed, our picnics eaten, or having kids get chased & jumped on by unknown dogs - all situations that we heard have happened to neighbours here at Sherbourne Common. 

We will keep you updated as we hear more about how the Deputy Mayor's office plans to work with residents to address dogs off leash in Sherbourne Common.  In the meantime, please send a quick email to Tom Davidson, in Deputy Mayor Malik's office,  who is our contact on this issue. He can be reached at Tom.Davidson6@toronto.ca.  Let him know that dogs off leash are a problem in our park.

We will be in touch as we hear more.