Montreal to allow dogs on the metro

Montrealers will soon get to board the metro with their dogs.

City council unanimously voted yes to allow all pooches n the subway system by the end of this year, joining the likes of many major cities around the world.

“I’m mind blown honestly I’m so excited for my dog specifically but even for all the dogs in Montreal,” said dog owner Nya Ouellette-Ranger.

But not everyone is thrilled by the idea.

“I say that as a dog owner I love dogs. Dogs are my life but I just don’t see how it could work if it’s a free for all,” said dog owner Mauro Peña.

“Not every human and every dog likes to be approached. What happens when the wrong dog approaches the wrong dog and for what seems as benign reasons, we can’t tell what’s about to happen. What are we going to do about something like that? What if dogs fight in the middle of the wagon, dog fights happen all the time at dog parks.”

#WATCH: "This is going to cause a lot of havoc," says dog attack victim Tina Wentzell about the Montreal pilot project allowing dogs to ride the metro by the end 2022. @CityNewsMTL pic.twitter.com/P433gv2d6l

— Brittany Henriques (@BritHenriques) April 28, 2022

Some even say it might stop them from taking the metro if dogs will be present.

“If I knew it was a busy time and there would be 20, 30 dogs I would probably avoid the metro,” said dog attack victim Tina Wentzell.

Opposition party Ensemble Montreal proposed the idea a few weeks ago after an online petition by the SPCA was signed by more than 17,000 people. That after Ouellette-Ranger took it upon herself to write a letter to the mayor back in June.

“We can use the other cities that already allow dogs and have a allowed them for almost 10 years now and use them as an example in their regulations that they’ve put in place,” said Ouellette-Ranger. “Things like allowing one wagon in metros alone for dogs, so people that are afraid of allergic or whatever want to avoid them just don’t use that wagon.”

#WATCH: "So many people in Montreal don't have cars, but yet a fourth of us have dogs," says Nya Ouellette-Ranger who wrote a letter to the mayor back in June calling on the city to allow dogs on public transit. City council unanimously agreed to allow it in the metro on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/bERSIXuWj9

— Brittany Henriques (@BritHenriques) April 28, 2022

Dog owner Paula Russell, added, “it would be great if I could take her without benign worried a bus driver would not let me take her to a vet appointment or something.”

Some say despite loving dogs things could easily go wrong when the rule come into effect.

“As any dog owner will tell you when dogs are around other dogs, they can be overstimulated,” said Peña. “You know your dog you don’t know other dogs. I don’t know what they’re planning to do exactly but there’s going to have to be a separation between the animals.”

“I felt it was very wrong, first of all, for one thing, the dogs it’s very noisy in the metro stations there’s a lot of people its gets crowded you can easily step on a dog, harm a dog, two people are deathly afraid of dogs or even allergic cause there’s a lot of allergies this is going to cause a lot of havoc,” said Wentzell.

But others say some dogs have special needs that require their owners to be with them as much as possible.

“I can’t keep her home because she has severe separation anxiety, i need to start working on, but in the meantime I try to take her with me wherever I can. It’s a bit difficult,” said Russell.

The STM must now establish the parameters of a pilot project expected to be announced in the coming weeks.