I would like to make my thoughts known on the dogs on Baker issue as I will be unable to attend the upcoming city council meeting.
Dog owners need to be aware that dog ownership is personal and that in a communal setting (the busy downtown streets of Nelson) they are not appropriate. There is a sense of entitlement in our society that seems to inform people to just do what’s best for themselves and not consider others.
There is no question that turning back the clock to allow dogs will lead to cleanliness issues, incivility and possibly worse. The business community sound bite that we are keeping people away lacks substance. How do we know it isn’t doing the opposite?
Also, I would like to note that the current bylaw has not been enforced as dogs roam at will and I even observed a bylaw officer chatting up some dog owners, saying never mind to the owners, certainly enabling them in the future and even letting them know that he hoped the law is changed. Is that what we pay his substantial wages for? How many tickets if any have been written?
Recently, I watched a 90-year-old woman stand perplexed outside her car contemplating a layer of ice between her and the entrance to the store she was heading for. This woman needs all the help she can muster to bravely keep going and city council needs to consider her and other people’s needs in removing waste and hazard from the streets of which dogs certainly are one.
This collective of Nelson, with good reason, enacted the current bylaw and they should not back away from it but do the opposite and enforce it for the good of all.
Robert Read
Nelson