The Medicine Hat Police Service announced Wednesday a new project with a focus on responsible animal ownership.--PHOTO COURTESY MHPS
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Medicine Hat dog owners will see an increased presence of bylaw officers in city parks and trails.
The Medicine Hat Police Service announced Wednesday the start of a new project with a focus on responsible animal ownership, with bylaw officers paying special attention to dog owners.
The officers will be out and about in city parks and on the trail system over the next couple of weeks ensuring the provisions of the responsible animal ownership bylaws No. 3935 are being followed.
Bylaw supervisor Colin Heyens says the project is something they’ve had a focus on and have wanted to run for a while, and now with enough staff are able to put it in place.
Owners found modelling responsible pet ownership will be provided with a small token of appreciation for their diligence by the bylaw officers.
“When we find the responsible dog owners that are meeting all the criteria for the dogs – on a leash, it has its tags on the collar, it’s actively licensed and the dog owner is carrying dog bags, we are presenting them with a gift certificate to one of the local coffee shops in town and a little handmade certificate we had made up to present them,” Heyens said.
He says the next step, once the project has been running for some time and they get individuals’ approval, will be to post photos of the responsible owners on the MHPS’s social medias.
A few of the provisions dog owners should be aware of include: dogs only being off leash on trails that are designated as off leash areas and still under the owner’s control while off leash.
Owners immediately picking up after their dog and carrying a means of cleaning up dog defecation whenever they have their dog in public.
Dogs must be licensed and have a valid licence tag on them. Dogs must be prevented from chasing wildlife.
All trail users must be respectful of others and share the trails.
Helens says they had officers out at parks and on trails Wednesday and have already presented gift certificates and tokens to a few responsible owners. He says there were also some owners who were reminded to renew their dog licences and were warned about off-leash in the proper areas.
“There’s lots of good, responsible dog owners out there and we really appreciate the effort they put in for cleaning up after their dog and doing all the things that keep the trails and everything friendly for everyone to use,” Heyens said. “I’m glad we found just as many of them as people we had to remind to renew dog licences or carry dog bags, so it’s a positive thing.
“Our presence alone being out there is really encouraging to everyone as a reminder to share the trails and clean up after yourself and keep your dog under control. So as not to disturb anyone else’s use of the trail system.”
He says bylaw has already received positive feedback from a few people rewarded and says if they find success in the project they will look to do it again in the future as long as staffing permits
