The Editor,
Re. “Mundy Park will get off-leash trail loop” (The Tri-City News, June 24) and “Relax, local dog owners, Mundy off-leash times will remain” (July 1).
How disappointing to see the much needed dog bylaw blitz being turned into a joke. It is now a “lighthearted campaign” focused on education.
The only education dog owners can understand is that if they disregard the law, there is at least a chance that they will get a fine — not a warning.
Do you really think dog owners can’t read signs and don’t have the intellect necessary to understand them? What they understand is that the rules are a joke, as illustrated by this campaign directed at the “pooches” rather than their owners.
We don’t treat other laws as a joke. The police don’t give you a lighthearted warning if you don’t drive within the speed limit. And wouldn’t it be absurd if we directed that campaign at the cars rather than their drivers, reminding cars to control their drivers?
Why do we treat dog owners like kids, using silly preschool language like “doggy,” “pooch,” and “doggy-doo?”
This blitz only addresses the tip of the iceberg anyway. We don’t have dog problems in only a few Coquitlam parks, we have them everywhere.
Dogs freely urinate and defecate in every conceivable place — in all parks, on sidewalks, private lawns, school yards, in front of restaurants, grocery stores, parking lots, covered parkades, against mailboxes, parking meters — causing disgusting and unsanitary conditions everywhere.
Remember when people were allowed to smoke everywhere? Then we became aware it wasn’t fair for others to be exposed to the dangers of second-hand smoke and change was made. I hope the ball soon gets rolling on banning dogs’ open urination and defecation in the streets and parks, and that it becomes a thing of the past, like smoking.
K. Parker, Coquitlam
