How many dogs is too many for one person to handle?
That’s something Calgary councillor Sean Chu has asked administration to explore as part of an overhaul to Calgary’s pet bylaws.
“There’s no way one person can look after eight or up to 12 dogs. I have heard form a lot of residents,” said Chu.
Calgary’s current pet bylaws will be rewritten over the next year. Chu has asked administration to research dog-walking restrictions currently in place in other cities to help determine what a reasonable limit might be for local off-leash parks.
“I think there’s going to be the occasional owner that isn’t going to be as attentive as one might hope,” dog walker Gale Vandurs said. She suggested the problem isn’t too many unruly animals, but too many owners who simply aren’t watching their dog(s) closely enough.
“I don’t think that it really makes a difference if it’s one animal or if it’s someone who has a pack.”
Get daily National news
Toronto’s commercial dog walkers, for example, are limited to six animals off-leash at a time in public parks. Dog walkers in that city are also required to obtain permits, an option some say might better address the problem.
“I don’t think that limiting the number of dogs is going to give any kind of resolution for the larger issues at hand,” said Amber Roy with Calgary’s Black Collar Society. They offer a variety of pet services including dog walking. The experienced handlers walk up to eight dogs at once.
LISTEN: Amber Roy of Black Collar Society joins Danielle Smith to explain why eight dogs should be the limit
Roy suggests the bylaw would force many pet care companies to fold. “If you put a limit on that and there’s only three dogs you can walk in a day… our prices are going to skyrocket and no one is going to want to pay $40 for a dog to go out on a walk.”
Comments