For more than eight years the Town of Golden has had a bylaw in place to keep the community friendly for both humans and pets, but some are unaware of what the rules really are.
All dogs must be confined while on its owner’s property, must be fitted with a current dog tag, must be on leash while in designated areas (including downtown and the Rotary Trail system), must be kept within the owner’s eyesight in non-leash designated areas, and must not be tied up or fastened to a traffic sign, post, or other object unattended.
The Town’s bylaw officer has many daily duties, one of which is enforcing the Town’s animal control bylaw, but the public is quite compliant with the regulations says Mayor Christina Benty.
“The majority of our residents are responsible pet owners who abide by existing regulations. As a community we need to continue to educate the public that picking up after your pet and respecting mandatory leash zones contributes to creating a safe and friendly environment for everyone to live,” she said.
Most of the bylaw officer’s animal control related calls deal with lost dogs running around at large, barking complaints (No owner may permit a dog to cry, howl or bark for more than three minutes in a 15 minute period in such a way that the noise is audible outside the parcel where the dog or dogs are kept), or complaints about owners who aren’t cleaning up after their dogs (which is challenging to enforce given that the dog needs to be caught “in the act” in order to issue a ticket to the owner).
All dogs who live in town boundaries must be registered with the Town of Golden. Pet owners who frequent Town boundaries with their pet are also welcome to register with the Town. Licences can be purchased at Town Hall.
The price of a license varies based on time of registration and if the animal is spayed or neutered. The average price registration price is $13. The registration is valid for one year and includes an ID tag used to identify the dog. If a licensed dog is found by the bylaw officer it will be returned once located and apprehended.
Pet owners are reminded to respect these regulations in public areas as despite the dog owners confidence they have regarding the control they have over their pet, many members of public are not comfortable around pets that are off leash.
To view the entire bylaw, go to https://golden.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentDisplay.aspx?Id=60501.
