The City of Medicine Hat voted Monday to limit the number of pets people are allowed to own.

Under the new Responsible Animal Ownership bylaw, pet owners can have no more than three dogs and six cats as of May 1, 2011.

The bylaw also gives enforcement officers the power to lay nuisance charges against owners whose dogs bark excessively and to declare a dog vicious based on their own investigations.

It also makes it an offence to leave an animal unattended in the bed of a pickup truck or in a backyard when no one is home.

An incident in 2008 — in which a woman lost part of her finger in a dog attack — triggered the push for new rules, said Heather Trail, the city's acting superintendent for bylaw enforcement.

Having too many pets in a home can lead to situations where the owners can't control them properly, creating a danger to the public, Trail said.

But Alicia Schmidt, who runs a dog boarding business, said the new rules unfairly treat all pet owners as irresponsible.

"These people actually love their dogs. It's the people who are producing more dogs and putting them in bad homes and then they go to the SPCA," said Schmidt, who has four dogs.

'It really upsets me to see that people don't have the adequate time to work with these dogs'—Karrie McIntyre, dog breeder

The Medicine Hat SPCA, which was consulted as the bylaw was drafted, generally supports the new rules.

But the animal rights group still has some misgivings, said executive director Audrey Becker.

"Limit of animals of course is always a concern for us, just because we do the pound services for the City of Medicine Hat, and we're always full with animals. So we don't want any potential homes to be eliminated because of limits," Becker said.

Dog breeder and trainer Karrie McIntyre said the new bylaw should have been even stricter.

"It really upsets me to see that people don't have the adequate time to work with these dogs and consequently you end up having behavioral problems," she said.

Owners who exceed the new pet limit can have their animals grandfathered if they register them before May 1, 2011, when the bylaw takes effect.

Edmonton also limits pet ownership to three dogs and six cats. There are no such restrictions in Calgary.