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Toronto has strange dog signs
#1
Toronto has put up signs posting "dog" bylaws. The wording of the signs is a little odd. It is odd enough that the Miriam-Webster dictionary has commented on it.
How weird, you ask. Take a look.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/01...-sign.html

Dogs that dig holes must have owners fill them in immediately

When I read this, it seems to be written for the dog. The dog is being told to have it's owner fill the hole.
I didn't know dogs in Toronto could read.
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Catherine

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#2
"Dogs that dig holes must have owners...." Do all dogs have owners? Not all of them. What about strays? Are the strays committing an offence by not having an "owner"?

"...that..." The word "that" is for use in phrases such as "He said that there was a problem with the sign" or "That person doesn't know how to write properly". In the sentence used on the notice, the word "which" or "who" should be used.

"immediately" - how fast is immediately? If the human companion doesn't have a trowel or spade, is going home to get one and returning as soon as possible "immediately"? Or is the human expected to do the digging with bare hands, if s/he has no trowel or spade at the time?

"owners" - legally, in many countries humans technically "own" a dog, much like white people "owned" slaves a couple of centuries ago. But the idea of one species "owning" another species is to me morally repugnant.

"must have owners fill them in" - but what if the owner is not present? Suppose a relative, friend, or professional dog walker is with the dog: what is the situation then? The notice does not say that anyone else apart from the owner is required to fill in the hole.

I am not a lawyer, but this notice is - sorry for the pun, hahaha! - full of holes.
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#3
Everything you say about the sign is true.  It is however an official City of Toronto sign. That means the city sign department processed it through and had it printed and posted by a city worker. Someone official signed off on that sign and said it was alright. 

It would  be better if it said All dogs who dig holes...
Better still how about: If your dog digs holes, please fill them in...or else By Law 608
More precise, Fill all holes dug by your dog.

Toronto has a thing about funny signs.

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I hate to think about why this one was posted.

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There are probably no strays in Toronto. It is very seldom a dog ends up on the streets. It would be picked up quickly and 50 people would apply to adopt it.
We bring in dogs to our shelters from all over. Toronto takes in Northern dogs from remote communities. We have dogs evacuated from hurricane areas and other natural disasters. We take in rescued puppy mill dogs, dogs from hoarding situations and  dogs from meat markets. Anywhere that has an over population problem can send them to Toronto.
I just checked the shelter web site and there are 12 dogs, but they are all on hold. 
There are still dogs at the shelter, but they are not ready for adoption.

We don't have room for stray dogs. We are the raccoon capital of the world. They are everywhere and they are into everything.
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Catherine

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