Rats are now under siege at City Hall!

The city has placed some bait boxes around the bushes and garbage cans where the rodents have been spotted.

Coun. Diane Holmes’s office overlooks the area and has been like a hawk trying to spot the rats. She even went down with her staff to get a closer look, but alas, couldn’t find any critters.

Maybe those bait boxes are doing the job.

The city now might want to take a look at this door leading out to the area.

It seems to have a problem closing and I would hate to write on a rat infestation moving into City Hall. Just hate it.

This story about a dog biting a woman’s nose at a Home Depot has received a lot of attention, even from the international press.

I read some of the comments on the Sun story and wondered, as some people recommended, if there’s any appetite at City Hall to ban animals from retail stores (there is already a prohibition at restaurants).

The community and protective services (CPS) committee oversees animal bylaw issues, so I asked a few councillors on the committee what they think.

Fair to say there’s not much appetite.

Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes, who also chairs the new public health board, didn’t think the city needs to clamp down based on one incident.

“I don’t think we need to jump,” Holmes said.

Bay Coun. Mark Taylor, who chairs the CPS committee, agreed that writing more regulations isn’t the answer to making sure people control their pets.

Pretty much the same sentiment from Kitchissippi Coun. Katherine Hobbs.

Dog bite stories like these always ignite heated debates on our website. The attention on this incident is compounded by another story just days earlier about a pit bull killing a Shih Tzu.

For the latest on the Home Depot bite, check out Sun reporter Jamie Long’s story today.