If you don’t have a pet, it’s hard to relate to the connection that people have with their cats and dogs, and birds, ferrets, guinea pigs, even goldfish.
A beloved pet truly is a family member in the immediate sense. In fact, some people treat their pets better than their fellow humans.
That’s why it’s so difficult to get rid of one or two dogs because you’re contravening a bylaw.
The rules in Oliver state you can only have two dogs on your property. The Town of Osoyoos allows three.
Many residents in Oliver harbour more than two dogs, and they continue to do so without ultimatums or consequences. Why? Because nobody ratted them out.
Bylaw enforcement only occurs when someone complains, and as we know, some people like to do that regardless if the contravention hurts them or not.
If you don’t like your neighbours on the other side of the fence, that’s one way of getting back at them – call the bylaw officer.
But there are cases when bylaw enforcement is totally justified when your neighbour’s dog is aggressive or barking all the time.
It seems unfair that only a select few people in Oliver are targeted and forced to get rid of their dogs.
Rules are rules, and they should not be compromised to suit certain people. The bylaw should apply to everyone equally, but it really doesn’t.
Unfortunately, the Town of Oliver does not have the money or the will to hire a dozen bylaw enforcement officers to knock on doors to see if people are contravening the Animal Control Bylaw.
So what does Oliver do? If it enforced all of the rules seven days a week, Town hall would be flooded with angry people and a ton of paperwork. Staff could never keep up.
The only way the Town can approach this is case by case (the way it does now).
The fact is this town is not big on bylaw enforcement because it puts more faith in voluntary compliance.
Bottom line: Don’t give your neighbours good reason to complain.
Lyonel Doherty
Editor
