I would really like to thank the non-dog-owning community for reading my columns and say I'm sorry for not addressing your concerns in last week's column. It was not intentional.
I am only given a certain amount of space and I can't fit in everything that needs to be said and give it the proper attention it deserves. Having said that, it is clear from the response I received last week from the non-dog-owning demographic regarding careless dog owners in our community that they have concerns.
We have to face it folks, our community is not getting any smaller. Take a look around - high-rises are being built in areas a single home once dwelled. Without sounding redundant, this means more people in a smaller area. As space becomes compromised, frustrations rise as we all begin to feel infringed on.
If you want to live in a high-density area like the North Shore, you must be willing to make compromises and share public space peacefully.
This means that dog and non-dog owners are going to mingle as many of the trails and walks are dog friendly. I'm sure that would not be an issue at all if dog owners actually obeyed the leash-required bylaws in those areas. As for areas where leashes are optional, it does not mean that you have the option to carry a leash. It means you have the option to not leash your dog, but you are still responsible for managing its behaviour so that it does not cause conflict with other trail users, like non-dog people. If your dog is not well trained and reliable off leash, it means that you will have to . . . Leash. Your. Dog.
No, I did not just use profanity!
I understand it is hard to comprehend that there are non-dog people in this world, especially when the world - according to advertising and media - loves dogs. Dogs are used to sell everything from bathroom tissue to smartphones.
Reality check: not everyone appreciates the rambunctiousness of a young dog, and some people are afraid of dogs. There is nothing wrong with these people. They are normal, healthy human beings who just don't have an affinity for dogs. I don't have an affinity for cats and it's OK.
Instead of allowing your dog to jump on a senior citizen who may have spent the last few weeks indoors waiting for the perfect day to get outside for 15 minutes, leash your dog and, if the senior wants to say hello, he will ask.
One non-dog owner shared her concerns with me regarding an incident in which she asked a dog owner to leash his dog on a trail as it was running around her toddler. The dog owner's response was, "Why don't you leash your child?"
Really?
Have we become that disconnected with ourselves and each other that we can utter disrespectful, intimidating comments to a mother and a child without remorse? As a dog community, we should hold ourselves to higher standards than that. It is a privilege to be able to walk our dogs along trails and in parks that were once off limits to dogs completely. Many new dog owners are oblivious to this fact, but I can remember when many places in the Lower Mainland were dog-free zones.
Yes, times have changed. Dogs are allowed in many public areas now. But with that change, our attitudes as dog owners should not change to selfishness and apathy, but rather gratitude for what we have been given. We all have to work together to get along. Dogs are allowed in many public places and, as dog owners, we need to be conscious of the responsibility we have to other users when we bring our dogs into these public environments. But others have to be conscious too. Non-dog owners have to understand that dogs are free-thinking animals and even with the best of intentions and training, sometimes things can go a little sideways.
Let's all take a deep cleansing breath and, on the exhale, make a commitment to act more consciously towards one another.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her through her website k9kinship.com.
