8/10/2019 Taking Care of Your Best Friend

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Taking Care of your Best Friends Business.

WalkingdownthestreetsofFortNelson,glancinginthetruckboxes

of vehicles parked along 50th

avenue, or while enjoying the

riverscapeundertheMuskwaRiverBridge,onequicklynotices the

manyfourleggedcitizensinourcommunity.

Dogloversabound intheNRRM,and it is importanttoensurethat

ourcommunityremainsopenandwelcomingtoourcaninefriends

However,asRegionalCouncilnoted ina recentmeeting, it isalso

important that dogs, their owners, and their neighbours can al

enjoythemselveswithoutsteppingoneachothers...toes.

TherearemanycitiesandtownsinCanadathathavedesignatedoff

leash areas, created fenced offleash dog parks, and have

implemented new regulations to ensure the quality of life for al

theircitizensfourleggersandtheirownersalikeiskeptatahigh

standard. Actions in otherjurisdictions have ranged from simply

increasing fees to requiring feces samples forDNAdatabases that

allowmunicipalofficials tocatchdogownerswho refuse to scoop

whentheirdogspoop.

Municipalbylaw #712 is theAnimalControlBylawwhich requires

licensing fordogs,provides limitationsonownershipofdangerous

dogs, requiresowners toprovide adequate care for their animals

prohibitsanimals frombeingkept inunsanitaryconditions,among

othersimilarprovisions. Theanimalcontrolofficer(2507750048

worksto

remove

stray

animals

and

enforce

this

bylaw

when

necessary. To learnmoreabout thisandotherbylaws in theNorthernRockiesRegionalMunicipality,youcango to

www.northernrockies.caandclicktheBylawssectionunderWhatsNewonthelefthandside.

Waste,thetopicofmanycomplaints,isanissueforanumberofreasons: thefirstandmostobviousisthatpeopledo

notwishtostepinunexpectedsurprisesonthesidewalk. Howeverotherissueswithdogwasteisthatitharmslawns,it

smells,itdecreasesthegeneralattractivenessofourtownandsometimesdamagestreesaswell.

AtarecentNRRMcouncilmeeting,RegionalCouncildeterminedthatdespiteanincreaseinfines,alotofpeoplesimply

forgettobringabagthatenablesthemtopickupaftertheirdog. Tomakeiteasier,theNRRMhasinstalleddogwaste

bag

stations

around

town

at

Garry

Griffin

(Firefighters)

Park,

Boundary

Road,

Klondike

Townhouse

Park

Entrance,

andBobPricePark. TheNRRMisofferingthespaceonthedispenserstointerestedadvertisers,andisopentosuggestions

fornewlocationsthatwouldbebeneficialtocitizens. (Formoreinfo,goto www.northernrockies.ca.)

LifewithoutadogisunthinkableformanypeoplewhomakeFortNelsonandotherareaswithintheNRRMhome. Ou

communityisinanenviablepositionwithmanyplacesinsideandoutsidetheTownwherepeoplecantaketheirdogsto

gettheirexercise,play,orjustenjoytheoutdoors. TheNRRMwillcontinuetoworktoensurethatadequatespaceand

guidelinesexistforeverincreasingstandardsoflivingforallofourtwoandfourleggedcitizens.

submitted