A Halifax homeowner says the dogs at Point Pleasant Park are off-leash and out of control and he’s calling on the city to do something about it.

Several areas of the south-end park are designated off-leash, including an area that borders 11 homes, including Tim Ramey’s.

Ramey says rogue dogs run through his yard on a regular basis, and two even bolted through an open door and into his kitchen last year, scaring his wife.

“She did get them out of our home,” says Ramey. “She was not harmed, but then when she tried to go and find who the owner was, of course they were nowhere to be found.”

According to bylaw A-300, pet owners “must have continuous and effective control” of their dogs.

But park user Harald Norve says out-of-control dogs have been a problem at Point Pleasant Park for years.

“There are dogs that are completely out of control and the owners tend to just walk ahead and ignore the dog,” says Norve.

“I usually have my dog off-leash in all the parts that I can and I definitely have not seen any issues,” says dog owner Emily Budden.

Park user and dog owner Don Colyer says he is more concerned for the safety of his nine-year-old pet Patches than for himself.

“We’re walking down the trail, minding our own business, and this other dog comes running up and grabs hold of him.”

Ramey says he’s tired of finding random dogs in his backyard and he wants city council to start enforcing the bylaw.

“Respond in a meaningful manner and take action,” says Ramey. “Don’t blow smoke.”

Waye Mason, the councillor for Halifax South – Downtown, says he would like to see the return of park patrols.

“I share his frustration because an off-leash dog park doesn’t mean an out-of-control dog park,” says Mason.

“We need to have more enforcement in the park. The problem is that when you move to a complaints-driven system, by the time someone calls 311 and says ‘this dog is menacing my child’ and a bylaw officer shows up, it’s too late for anybody to do anything.”

Mason says he believes he has council’s support and change may be coming soon.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jayson Baxter