A woman walks her dog near Kits Beach
A motion put before Vancouver City Council to allow dog owners to leave their dogs leashed and unattended, has been defeated today. This comes after just one councilor supported the motion, Councilor Adriane Carr.
Carr is the same councilor that brought the issue to the forefront after a woman received a $250 ticket for leaving her dog tied up and unattended, while she quickly ran into a drugstore. Carr expressed her disappointment with the motion failing, due to her belief that most dog owners are responsible.
“We’ve left a bylaw in place that’s very broad in its approach, and leave it to the vagaries of the officer to impound a dog and fine its owner for leaving a dog in a safe way, and I think that safe way is done a vast majority of the time,” states Carr.
The little known bylaw applies to 13 other municipalities in BC. A total of five tickets were written in Vancouver in 2011 due to violations regarding leaving dogs tied, but left alone.
