--- title: Lake Cowichan rules for aggressive and dangerous dogs question: "What are the rules for aggressive or dangerous dogs in Lake Cowichan?" place: Lake Cowichan, British Columbia, Canada place_path: ca/bc/lake-cowichan category: Pets, animals and wildlife owner: municipal owner_body: Town of Lake Cowichan sources_read: 2026-11-08 review: machine_checked canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/dangerous-dogs/" json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/dangerous-dogs.json" --- # Lake Cowichan rules for aggressive and dangerous dogs **Question:** What are the rules for aggressive or dangerous dogs in Lake Cowichan? **Short answer:** In Lake Cowichan, the Animal Control Officer can classify a dog as a "vicious dog" after it attacks or threatens a person or animal. The owner must keep it confined at home and muzzled in public. Failing to do either is a $150 ticket. **Who handles it:** Municipal (Town of Lake Cowichan, https://www.lakecowichan.ca) **Cost:** Vicious dog not confined: $150 ticket. Not muzzled: $150 ticket. No separate licence fee found. **How long:** Not applicable. **Where:** - Phone: Town Hall (bylaw and animal control; leave a message), 250-749-6681 - Email: Bylaw (non-urgent), bylaw@lakecowichan.ca ## Key facts - **How a dog is declared dangerous or aggressive:** A 'vicious dog' has attacked, bitten or injured a person, or shown a tendency to; or has bitten, killed or injured a domestic animal; or aggressively pursued or harassed a person or domestic animal. The Animal Control Officer classifies it in their opinion after considering the facts, and tells the owner in writing. Only the Court can find the declaration incorrect. - Source: [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, s. 2.1](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - Official wording: "VICIOUS DOG shall mean" … "a dog that has attacked, bitten or caused injury to a person or has" - Source: [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, s. 9.1](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - Official wording: "The classification of a dog as a Vicious Dog will be done by the" … "Animal Control Officer if after careful consideration of the facts, in" - Source: [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, s. 9.2](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - Official wording: "Once a dog has been declared vicious the only way in which this" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Rules for owners:** On the owner's premises, keep the dog securely confined indoors or in an enclosed pen that keeps young children out and the dog in. Off the premises (street, public place), the dog must be muzzled. - Source: [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, s. 9.3, s. 9.4](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - Official wording: "securely confined either indoors or in an enclosed pen or other" … "unless the dog is muzzled to prevent it from biting another animal or human." - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Licence fee:** None set. No separate licence fee for a vicious dog appears in the bylaw's fee schedule. - **How to report:** Call the Town office at 749-6681 and leave a message with your name, phone number and a brief description. Non-urgent issues can be emailed to bylaw@lakecowichan.ca. - Source: [Animal Control, Animal Control page](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/animal.php) - Official wording: "To report an animal control incident or problem, please call the Town office 749-6681" … "bylaw@lakecowichan.ca" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Fine:** $150 for a vicious dog not securely confined; $150 for a vicious dog not securely muzzled. - Source: [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, Schedule A](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - Official wording: "Vicious dog not securely confined" … "150.00" … "Vicious dog not securely muzzled" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Bylaw:** Town of Lake Cowichan Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, s. 9 (Vicious Dogs). - Source: [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019, s. 1](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - Official wording: "This bylaw may be cited for all purposes as “Town of Lake Cowichan Animal" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 ## How it works The [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019]() (s. 9) calls an aggressive dog a "vicious dog". A dog is vicious if it has attacked, bitten or injured a person, or shown a tendency to; has bitten, killed or injured a domestic animal; or has aggressively pursued or harassed a person or domestic animal. The Animal Control Officer decides this, in their opinion, after considering the facts, and tells the owner in writing. Only the Court can find the declaration incorrect. ## Steps 1. To report a dog, call Town Hall at 250-749-6681 and leave your name, phone number and a brief description. 2. For a non-urgent issue, email bylaw@lakecowichan.ca. ## Good to know - At home, a vicious dog must be kept securely confined indoors or in an enclosed pen that keeps young children out and the dog in. - Off the owner's premises, in a street or public place, it must be muzzled. - Each failure is a $150 ticket. - The Provincial Court may order a dangerous dog destroyed (s. 9.6). - No separate licence fee for a vicious dog was found in the bylaw's fee schedule. ## Official forms and pages - [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019 (PDF), Town of Lake Cowichan](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) - [Animal Control, Town of Lake Cowichan](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/animal.php) ## Related questions - [Lake Cowichan dog licences: fees and how to get one](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/dog-licence.md) - [Lake Cowichan dog leash rules and off-leash areas](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/dog-leash-rules.md) - [How many dogs or cats you can keep in Lake Cowichan](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/how-many-pets.md) ## The same question elsewhere - [Dangerous dog rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/dangerous-dogs.md) - [Ladysmith](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/ladysmith/dangerous-dogs.md) - [Duncan](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/duncan/dangerous-dogs.md) - [North Cowichan](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-cowichan/dangerous-dogs.md) - [Nanaimo](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/nanaimo/dangerous-dogs.md) - [Lantzville](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lantzville/dangerous-dogs.md) - [North Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/north-saanich/dangerous-dogs.md) ## Sources - [Animal Control Bylaw No. 1019-2019 (PDF), Town of Lake Cowichan](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/dl/1019-2019%20Animal%20Control.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Animal Control, Town of Lake Cowichan](https://www.lakecowichan.ca/animal.php) (read 2026-11-08) _Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 6 facts was matched to the official text; 1 is recorded as not set. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Town of Lake Cowichan. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lake-cowichan/dangerous-dogs/_