I’m with you on this, and I have frequently complained on the ourfernie website about this issue, to no avail. There is a bylaw in Fernie that dogs MUST be kept on a leash, which is rarely adhered to, and as well, you MUST pick up after your dog, which is equally disregarded. I feel that these two issues go hand-in-hand. I have seen people take their dogs out without a leash and the dogs are either 30 ft ahead of the owner, doing their own thing, or trailing 30 ft behind. How are you keeping an eye on your dog’s business if you can’t even see where they are? I have watched out my window as a dog walks into my yard, takes a crap, and then walks away. About a minute or two later, his owner comes walking down the street completely unaware (or so it seems) that his dog just dumped in my yard. I think that the bylaws need to be enforced a lot better than they are now. I have never once seen the bylaw officer while I’m taking my dogs for walks. So who, then, is supposed to be reinforcing the leash and poop laws? To take matters into my own hands, when I see a dog take a dump and the owner doesn’t pick it up, I outright ask them, "Are you going to pick that up?". The usual response is "I don’t have a bag", which is a poor excuse. How hard is it to take a fricken plastic bag in your pocket when you leave the house? They sell these dog-bag dispensers now that are quite compact and you can clip them on your dog’s leash (provided you actually use a leash). I usually lend them a bag if I have one, or I tell them they should clean it up anyways. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, but I hope that by asking them, they are at least embarassed or maybe it will clue them in that they SHOULD be cleaning upafter their dog. Anyway, that is my rant, feel free to correct me if you feel my opinions are wrong.
