r from Alberta. The topic: loose household pets, in particular, your family pet dog. We have had several incidents of close encounters with loose dogs, with no “owner” in sight, while visiting your beautiful area.
We noticed that there are pet parks in your area where you can take your pets for a friendly walk and meet other families with their pets. Most of the time, your pets have to be on a leash, why? Because they can attack any thing or person at any time. There are good reasons why bylaws are instituted but mostly for the safety of others.
When your pet dog is loose throughout town, it makes it dangerous for your pet as well as those who come upon the animal in question. People will respond to loose aggressive animals in different ways and running away is not one of them. Also with the amount of vehicle traffic in your town, your animal is not safe. They are like children and need to be watched and cared for at all times.
I know that most pet owners are responsible, take care of their animals, take them to obedience school, and willingly own up to any incidents. However, let’s not have an incident where people will be hospitalized or the animal sent to be destroyed. There are many ways to avoid a heartbreak in the family. One of those — take care of your animal by making sure they are at home with you.
Thank you for your consideration of others in your neighbourhood and visitors in your beautiful town.
Elaine McDermid
Whitecourt, Alberta
