Your Vancouver Sun
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
There is only one thing I agree with Marilyn Baker on: Owners who allow dogs to attack or pollute the environment should be punished.
It is obvious Baker is not a dog lover. I am and have found that the majority of people who love dogs are kind and caring.
Hundreds of dogs are walked down our street to an authorized dog-run park. All breeds of dogs cavort and play while their owners socialize or participate in the joy of seeing their pets enjoying themselves.
Dogs I have found at the Langley Animal Shelter are usually the product of their early environment and training and cannot be judged by their breed. Dogs are probably the most wonderful creation and friends that we humans can obtain. We owe them much.
Mike Harvey
Langley
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
The vicious breeds Marilyn Baker mentions are singled out only because they are the breeds invariably selected by humans who create the unacceptable behaviour in these animals as a status symbol.
A wise, pro-active idea would be to have school children watch The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic TV. That way a new generation will grow up understanding how to get the best from man's best friend and appreciate all the incredible benefits.
C.J. Grindley-Ferris
Coquitlam
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
How many times are we going to cover the dog issue? Marilyn Baker must have too much time on her hands to focus on such a non-issue in our day-to-day lives. I credit her for noting that all it takes are a few irresponsible dog owners who make it nasty for all, but why continue to create a furore over dogs?
I'll help end this debate by saying that all citizens in the Lower Mainland are guilty of desecrating public areas. There are far more Starbucks and Tim Hortons coffee cups, McDonald's packaging, cigarette butts and dangerous broken beer bottles littering areas we all frequent than the dog poop that some lazy dog owners turn a blind eye to.
As for dog injury statistics, noted animal behaviourist Dr. Ian Dunbar (Dog Aggression: Biting, 1998) states that about 2,000 children die in the United States every year at the hands of their parents, but fewer than a dozen are killed by dogs. But you do not hear anyone say, "Careful, parents can turn on you." Thousands of kids are injured and killed in car accidents, but you do not see vehicles being banned.
Let's all be reasonable about each other's behaviour, actions and choices. Ignorant dog owners who leave their dog's waste behind should pay a major fine. In fact, pick up the poop yourself, follow the offender and leave it on the owner's car or front doorstep.
Dogs are great companions and motivators to get out and exercise. If we limit a dog's ability to get outside and share our lives, then we may as well limit almost everything we do since many activities have a negative cause and effect in some form.
Martine Dubuc
Delta
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
I can empathize with Marilyn Baker. A month or two ago, when I approached the express check-out at my local major chain grocery store, I was astonished to see that the customer ahead of me was holding her pooky mutt under one arm.
She obviously had no concern about food hygiene or human allergies when she put the dog down on the conveyor belt while she fished her credit card out of her wallet. Meanwhile, the dog's butt was inches away from the open hot table of unwrapped roasted chickens.
The cashier smiled serenely as she served this customer and her dog. She apparently wasn't trained to nicely inform the thoughtless owner that her dear pet was a public health risk and should not be brought into the store in the future.
This incident, and the recent food contamination disaster, suggest that all levels of government are being complacent and negligent about public health protection.
Derek Wilson
Port Moody
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
The Canadian Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club, the Canada Safety Council, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, the United States Centers for Disease Control, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and countless other experts all oppose breed-specific legislation and have the facts to run this unsubstantiated, fear-mongering commentary into the ditch where it belongs.
Alexandra Weynerowski
Campbell River
Your Vancouver Sun
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
Surely Marilyn Baker, with her heavily quoted research, knows the majority of attacks on people occur not in public places, but in and around the home. Simply put, the family pooch is more likely to bite a family member or friend than maul a passing stranger.
I'm not sure what parks Baker frequents, but her image of marauding pit bulls and Rottweilers "rip(ping) kids faces off" while hapless owners look on with astonishment is a far cry from reality.
As a dog behaviourist and trainer, I have dealt with hundreds of owners of difficult, ill-mannered and aggressive dogs. In my experience, they will do anything necessary to fix the problem.
Sure, there are some irresponsible dog owners and, yes, we should pick up after our dogs and keep them under control. But what would the response be if Baker's "fine and ban" approach were applied to parents of rude, obnoxious, unruly children?
On a final note: The best way to provoke an attack from a potentially aggressive dog? Threaten it with a big stick.
Sandy Yates
Bark Busters, North Vancouver
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
The dog doo hits the fan when canines are criticized
Letter
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
Re: First, let's ban all the dogs, Issues & Ideas, May 29
I found Marilyn Baker's commentary realistic and thought-provoking. I was recovering from surgery in the spring of 1996, when my husband and I went for a short walk on the beach in Victoria, near Oak Bay. Near where we parked the car was a sign saying "All dogs are to be on a leash." We hadn't progressed very far when we saw an older woman approaching in the distance with three large dogs, all unleashed. As she passed us, the dogs started running to catch up; one dog veered towards me and picked up speed, while showing its fangs. I stepped back as the dog overwhelmed me, and fell backwards hard against a stump poking out of the sand.
My husband managed to fend off the dog by throwing a large stick at it, and all three dogs and the woman had disappeared by the time he was able to get me up off the ground. I was black and blue, had a puncture in my hip from the stump and my surgery recovery was delayed about a month. To this day, I have what only can be described as a panic attack around any dogs I see unleashed.
Marguerite Smith
Chilliwack
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
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Your Calgary Herald
Bad owners blamed for dog park decline
Sarah Chapman, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
With many pet owners disregarding bylaws, a southwest off-leash park has gone to the dogs, says city resident Dave Grant.
He said the park on 14th Street between Heritage Drive and Southland Drive S.W. across from his home is out of control due to a lack of enforcement.
"There are a number of problems," Grant said, explaining he has seen dogs running off leash on the sidewalks and chasing rabbits onto residential properties.
"Because there is no policing or education, there is no compliance."
Grant has been told that bylaw officers attend when complaints are made, but he'd like to see frequent spot checks in the area to catch offenders in the act.
"We've seen it all," he said.
"In that area alone, you could pay for a bylaw officer with the number of tickets you could write in a month."
The manager of the city's animal and bylaw services department, Bill Bruce, said more enforcement is on the way.
"We've hired two extra (officers) to go out on mountain bikes to proactively patrol this summer," said Bruce.
"The bylaws are there. Unfortunately, we do have irresponsible owners who do not follow the bylaws."
Who's in charge? Bill Bruce, animal and bylaw services, 311
What's wrong with Calgary? If you see something that needs to be improved in your city, call the Herald at 235-7433 or e-mail us at citywatch@theherald.canwest.com.