Who let the dogs out?

The District of Peachland is the latest Okanagan municipality to provide more access to dogs and their owners.

Council recently directed that dogs are to be permitted along the foreshore, except in three designated human-only zones.

In 2017, Kelowna city council approved three more beaches that would allow access to dogs. It’s about time. According to the latest poll by Ipsos, almost 40 per cent of Canadians own at least one dog and 38 per cent own a cat. (Statistics on goldfish and hamsters were unavailable.) Dogs, for many, are a member of the family.

The attitude of pet owners has evolved over the decades. In the 1960s, most dogs lived outdoors and were there to roam the land and scare intruders. They often survived on table scraps and socialized mostly with other dogs from the neighbourhood. In the 1970s, when dogs began moving inside, the attitude of most owners changed. It also created a multi-billion-dollar pet supply industry.

Today, many businesses are dog-friendly. It’s hard to find a hotel that take dogs.

The many health benefits of owning a dog have been well documented.

Most pet owners are responsible. They won’t take their dog to a park if it is unruly. Every municipality has bylaws and stoop-and-scoop laws.

We realize some people can be allergic or frightened by animals, but most owners use common sense. Children have even been taught to ask, “May I pet your dog?”

In many European countries, it’s not unusual to see a wellbehaved dog on a leash sitting on a patio. Sometimes they’re even welcomed inside churches and restaurants. You will see dogs on buses and subways because for many people, that’s their only form of transportation.

Canada’s attitude is light years behind Europeans. It’s nice to see that it’s slowly changing.