CALGARY — A Calgary entrepreneur is asking the city to consider adopting a system of colour-coded tags as a means to control aggressive dogs and improve safety for pets and their owners in public spaces.

Sebastian Yoon is a regular fixture at Edworthy Park’s off-leash area, a favourite spot to take his dogs, a pit bull and a Rottweiler-Lab mix, for daily exercise.

Most dog owners are responsible in off-leash areas and on bike paths, but too many others fail to control their pooches, he said.

“I don’t think there’s enough regulation in the city when it comes to dogs,” Yoon said.

“There’s a lot of grey areas at off-leash parks. It’s time to make the rules black and white.”

Yoon has filed a patent for an “off-leash authorization system” that works by assigning coloured tags or collars to animals based on their levels of aggression.

“If your dog has bitten a person or another animal and has a history of behaviour that is aggressive, it would get a red tag. And that dog would have to be muzzled, put on a leash or not even allowed in the park,” Yoon said.

A mild-mannered animal with a clean record, meanwhile, could sport a green tag. Owners would receive a mandatory collar from the city along with a dog licence.

Yoon said he has had informal conversations with the city about it and will meet with Ward 8 Ald. John Mar soon to discuss the idea.

It comes in the wake of three attacks involving pit bulls in Calgary in less than a week. The incidents have again raised the question of whether the city should consider banning certain breeds, something Yoon considers a misguided approach that amounts to discrimination.

Shana Lobowoitz, out for a stroll Saturday with her Schnauzer at Tom Campbell’s Hill, agrees there are some irresponsible animal owners who fail to control their pets in public spaces.

But she is not convinced coloured collars are the answer to the problem.

“It’s sort of like putting a big scarlet letter on an animal,” Lobowoitz said.

Yoon acknowledges his proposal is not without controversy and some dog owners may perceive it as unfair.

“It may seem harsh, but what’s worse? Banning a breed or coming up with solutions that make things better for everybody?” he said.

He hopes that if the city ultimately decides to adopt coloured tags for pooches, other jurisdictions in North America will follow suit.

“It’s going to take a lot of time, a lot of discourse and many pilot projects in dog parks. But hopefully it will weed out the people that are irresponsible — and those that are responsible will have safety and peace of mind.”

tgignac@calgaryherald.com