Editor:
Re: Good reason for dogs to be leashed.
It is apparent that Jason Rogers is quite emotional about the issue of dogs off-leash in Banff, and it is unfortunate that he is unable to reply to our letter in a civil manner without being insulting. If anyone is “contemptuous” in this debate it is he. However, we do wish to thank Mr. Rogers for his support of an off-leash area in Banff.
In his letter, Mr. Rogers refers to “numerous wildlife disturbance studies” where it is found that dogs disturb wildlife, and goes on for several paragraphs on a complete tangent. These studies no doubt have some validity, but have no relevance to the points we make in our letter.
Wildlife studies conducted on specific individual ecosystems don’t have a global application and the argument presented by Mr. Rogers is the self serving sophistry of a man with an axe to grind. We refer to an area that is human disturbed, and is far from being natural wildlife habitat. We are campaigning for an off-leash area within the municipal town site, we did not advocate for dogs off-leash in undisturbed wildlife habitat.
It is clear that Mr. Rogers doesn’t like dogs and we respect this as his right, but to state that we’re ignorant and oblivious because of our point of view is just plain wrong. I (Greg) am far from ignorant about wildlife ecology, having studied this for my Bachelor of Science degree in biology.
We are not oblivious to people’s fear of dogs and we do not pretend that everyone should like dogs: we are just wanting to have the right to let our dogs be free to play and run in this community without fear of fines and hassles. We don’t wish to contribute to environmental degradation by harassing wildlife or burning fossil fuels to walk our pet off-leash: we want an area set aside for the use of dogs, just as the skateboarders and bikers have for their special interest groups. There will always be people at odds because their activities annoy someone else, but we must be tolerant in order to have a harmonious community.
We would like to point out that other studies show that dogs have a great benefit to people’s health, help in lowering blood pressure and reducing the need for medications. They are rescuers. They are aids to the blind, epileptic, and autistic. They are companions to the lonely and house-bound. They are loyal and unconditionally loving companions and an intrinsic part of human culture.
In closing, we would like to thank everyone who has approached us and given us positive feedback on our first letter. Keep your ideas coming, whether you like dogs or do not like dogs: at the end of the day, the purpose of this discussion is to help make this off-leash area a reality and not just another project on paper.
Greg Killin and Josée Richard,
Banff
