Re: Terry Taylor's letter "We all pay for services whether we use them or not," Dec. 10, The Daily Courier.
Even I know the impossibilities of telling some dog owners off. The "tirade" you mentioned was to simply list some of the demands some dog owners want to impose on others, to stand up against being overrun by dogs in public.
Please describe just one benefit that dogs are to the general citizenry and not just dog owners or those directly associated with animals.
You can't give some dogs the necessary exercise and freedom they need by taking them to a place like Cedar Creek Park, where the height of excitement for the day is that of getting a hit under its tail by some other dog's cold, wet nose and then returning the compliment by sniffing the rumps of the other dogs there.
You could take your dog into the woods and let the smell of squirrel or rabbit tracks tantalize its nostrils if the dog's well-being and nature was as important to you as that of your own socializing in some off-leash Park.
A farm or ranch dog doesn't need all that exercise and attention. Perhaps because they are of a different nature than those bred to be a sub-species of mankind and fed modern dog foods which may cause them to lose all their natural instincts and more or less follow the traits of their owners.
I said that dog owners should rent a horse pasture and run their dogs there on their own dime instead of other taxpayer's money. And, after a conversation with a parks official several years ago, I checkedfor myself and doggy doo bags were indeed at the walkway entrance, courtesy of our tax dollar.
Please explain how letting dogs run loose in a park could possibly be classed as one of the "services we all pay for" when in fact it is an outrageous and unfair advantage over those who don't want some slobbering, panting, flea-kicking dog in their face while they have lunch or a child being scared or knocked down by some over friendly dog running loose.
I agree, "We can't cherry pick." The city pays no part of other people's hobbies. The equestrian, the fast car buffs and the gun enthusiasts, the list is endless, so why shouldn't dog owners provide their own spaces to exhibit the hobby of owning dogs?
Dog ownership is that of free will and not enforced upon anyone.
C.W. Holford,
Kelowna