I was absolutely appalled to read Patricia Coppard’s comment piece titled “Dog-walkers overwhelm Thetis Lake Trails” (April 29). I am a dog owner (with one dog) who walks around both Upper and Lower Thetis Lake up to five times a week and lives on a property five minutes from the park.
I have issues with Coppard’s piece particularly due to her condescending tone toward pet owners, her disillusioned and antiquated view of pet ownership and how she also admits that she no longer uses Thetis Lake Park trails.
Bad experiences happen anywhere. I had a bad experience at a local gas station, but I haven’t let that taint me; I worked through it and have no issues going to gas stations anymore.
I’m sorry that Coppard had an unfortunate time walking around Thetis Lake due to “one too many encounters with commercial dog-walkers and their trail-hogging charges” and “a curious abundance of off-leash pit bulls.”
This binary thinking is perpetuating breed discrimination and does not get to the root of the issue — owners (or dog-walkers) who do not have the ability to control their dogs. I also have a hard time taking the word of someone who admits she doesn’t use the trails and yet continues to criticize those who do.
And as Coppard states, rules don’t work to stop the issue (like people who speed or don’t wear seatbelts), so why add more regulations when they won’t address the root cause of the issue? Which in this case is a behavioural issue of a few dog owners and/or walkers.
Coppard then goes on to state rudely that: “If you don’t have time to walk your dog, why do you own one?” I can’t help but wonder if she applies the same logic to young parents as they return to work from maternity leave and let their children go to day care.
“If you don’t have time to spend all day/every day with your kids, why did you procreate and decide to have one?”
I have one dog, but there are times when life gets in the way, as when there is an accident on the Trans-Canada Highway and my commute home suddenly looks as if it will be upward of two hours (also thanks in part to the Colwood Crawl) and I am unable to get home to my dog in a reasonable time. It is in these situations where friends and dog-walkers are life-savers. I am not lazy; I try to spend at least two hours a day out with my dog, but there are days when life throws you a wrench and you have to react.
Most pet owners who have their dogs walked or hiked by a dog-walking company are responsible pet owners who understand that their dogs should not be home alone for eight hours a day. They care for their pets enough to pay a responsible dog-walker to take their dogs out during the day.
This does not reflect poor ownership or neglect; in fact, it shows a great deal of love and caring for their dogs, so that they are not home alone and so their dogs have an opportunity to learn skills that will have a positive impact on them long-term (i.e. better socialization skills, increased recall in pack environments etc.). Hiring someone to help you out with your dog isn’t wrong, and criticizing those who do based on an assumption and the behaviour of a minority is unacceptable.
Coppard’s opinion piece won’t help to solve the issue. It only spreads a negative narrative based on an individual’s bad experience and doesn’t provide an accurate representation of the issue at hand.
Amy Kirtay is a loving and devoted pet owner.
