Paulsen’s sentence brings more attention to dog walking regulations

WATCH: What are the rules and regulations when it comes to commercial dog walkers? How well is your pet protected when out of your care? Randene Neill reports.

The sentencing of Emma Paulsen to six months in jail is a landmark moment is an opportunity for animal advocates to take stock on the progress made in protecting animals in recent years.

“There’s a broader awareness about animal welfare issues in general. There’s a lack of tolerance on the part of most people to animal neglect and cruelty,” says Marcie Moriarty of the BC SPCA.

In 2014, the SPCA fielded 8,849 complaints, an increase of about 1000 from 2013, but Moriarty attributes that to increased awareness among the public as well as a new call centre.

Regulation around animal cruelty has been strengthened considerably in B.C. in recent years. In 2014, the Animal Legal Defense Fund ranked British Columbia second in Canada for its regulations, praising the range of protections available to animals, and the prohibitions and in place for both owners and non-owners alike.

One area without much regulation is the dog walking industry itself. The North Shore has an organization which mandates for dog walkers that mandates all walkers have insurance and limits on the number of dogs they can walk at once.

But there’s no large organization to regulate the industry, and even people on the North Shore say it’d be difficult to achieve.

“There really is no regulation of the business, but it would be hard to do because the biggest thing you need in a dog walker is experience, and you can’t regulate that,” says Barry Rueger of the North Shore Professional Dog Walkers’ Alliance.

“The challenge is figuring out what you would regulate and how you would regulate it.”