Editor:
I was recently in Canmore visiting a friend. We went cross-country skiing on the Three Sisters lands south and east of town and, like many others, I had my dog off-leash. When we came back into the Stewart Creek area, I was confronted by two municipal enforcement officers who – despite my dog being at a heel and completely under control – fined me $100 for my dog being at large. Again, it was heeling. I am not sure how one is supposed to ski whilst hanging onto one’s animal.
Regardless, reading the article in the Outlook about council’s intention to increase fines for off-leash dogs left me in complete disbelief.
The principal reason there are negative human-wildlife interactions in Canmore is successive councils have mismanaged planning in the Bow Valley – the density of development has far exceeded what the area could bear. To take this out on dog owners, through these exorbitant fines, is ridiculous.
Oppe Cosijn,
Brisco, British Columbia
Editor’s note: Canmore council updated the Town’s animal control bylaw March 5, meaning a first offence for a dog without a leash is $250 now.
