Twinney confirmed the incident in a separate interview and said while the dogs didn't attack her dog, they surrounded him and she had to pick him up. She added that in Newmarket they have created a separate area in their leash-free park for smaller dogs.

McNeil also pointed out the potentially unsafe transportation of the dogs – mostly larger dogs – walked by Rosemary. The dogs were packed in her pick-up truck and transported without crates, he said.

“At Lakeside, the area is basically 100 per cent industrial,” he said. “That means that basically 100 per cent of dog-park users drive there. In a passenger vehicle, a van or pick-up, how can anyone safely and humanely transport eight or more dogs? The answer is you simply can't.”

He added if the city doesn’t lower the number of dogs allowed into leash-frees, they are not placing much importance in the humane handling of dogs.

According to manager of animal services at the city of Mississauga Jay Smith, dog-walkers are not allowed to transport even a single dog outside of the passenger compartment without putting it in a crate or adequately securing it and can be fined up to $305 for violating the by-law.

Currently, Mississauga allows a maximum of eight dogs per dog-walker, a number McNeil and Bradshaw say is still too high.

The city of Toronto allows a maximum of six dogs per dog-walker, Oakville allows two and Brampton allows a maximum of three in leash-free areas.

While rare, incidents where dogs lose control, can occur. Recently, a 3-year-old girl was attacked by a dog at a leash-free dog park in Mississauga, while the owner was present.

“When dogs are walked on leash, you can walk more than one dog, but when they are off leash, how can only one handler safely supervise more than one dog?” McNeil said. “The truth is you can't and allowing this is just not safe. It is also not empathetic to all others wanting to responsibly use our leash-frees.”

Smith says the dog-walker would be held liable if a dog in their possession attacks another dog or another person.

Before hiring a dog-walker, McNeil says dog owners need to do their due diligence and ask questions including if the dog-walker has insurance, if he or she has experience walking dogs, has medical experience, how the dog is being transported, and how many dogs they are walking at a time.

The Mississauga News caught up with Rosemary at the Lakeside leash-free dog park to get her account of the events recounted by Bradshaw and McNeil and found, as many as eight dogs were packed in her pick-up without crates, she had two other handlers to help with the animals that day.

She said the comments made by the individuals about her are “slander” and if the individuals have an issue, to go through the city, she refused to discuss the matter.

Bradshaw and McNeil say they have made complaints to the city, but nothing concrete has been done about it.

Bradshaw says he made a complaint to the city of Mississauga on July 11 and was told a by-law officer would be dispatched. He waited around at the park, but no one showed up. He made another attempt in September.

According to the city of Mississauga, they have received his complaint and say staff will follow-up with Bradshaw to discuss the incident and provide clarification on the city’s approach to investigating this incident.

McNeil says during his time on the Leash-Free Mississauga board issues like Bradshaw's about dog-walkers were brought to their monthly meetings. Based on the city liaison’s discretion, the complaint would be communicated to the director of Parks and Forestry, who could then take it to council.

Patti Randall, an Oakville resident who was present at the time the Mississauga News caught up with Rosemary says she met Rosemary at the Lakeside dog park about two months ago.

She added that she intentionally brings her chihuahua from Oakville to Lakeside park, so her dog can be with Rosemary’s group of dogs, adding she didn’t think Rosemary’s dogs were a threat.

The Mississauga News followed up with Rosemary a second time, where she claimed it wasn't illegal to transport dogs in her pick-up truck without crates and refused to comment any further.

Editor's Note: Commenting on this story was shut down due to multiple violations of the commenting guidelines. The headline was changed at 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 6 to better reflect the breed of dog. Additions were made on Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. to clarify that dog-walkers are not allowed to transport even a single dog outside of the passenger compartment without putting it in a crate or adequately securing it and can be fined up to $305 for violating the by-law.