This is in response to T. Wilson’s letter titled ‘Dogs and their owners deserve better.’
I agree with the letter writer that not all dog owners should be painted with the same brush and that there are some very responsible dog owners out there. The problem is that there are just as many bad/lazy dog owners out there and there is no way to distinguish them.
You talk about dog owners paying taxes and that their tax dollars should be taken into consideration when determining where off-leash dogs can walk. What about the rights of taxpayers who don’t have dogs?
We bought a house on Heritage Drive with a regular city park running right behind our back fence. Approximately 20 metres beyond that is a dog park. Every day, morning and night, there are off-leash dogs running around the regular park. They have ruined our fence by forcing their way into the yard to chase our 17-year-old cat.
When we go into the park it is littered with dog feces. I see people watch their dogs go number two right behind our fence and just walk away without picking it up. A huge part of the reason we chose to purchase this house was due to the green space behind our house. What about my tax dollars? What about the money we spent on our house?
You need to realize there are taxpayers out there that don’t like dogs, or want random unleashed dogs running around their yards, or anywhere else for that matter. When I have asked people why they choose not to use the dog park they say they don’t want their dog to get dirty and that the soft green grass feels nice on their dog’s paws. These reasons aren’t good enough when there is a dog park literally feet away.
S. Soglo
Vernon
