Bowden mayor Robb Stuart has expressed concern over the ratio of dogs to dog licences in the town.
“I'm pretty sure we have way more dogs than licences and I think we should be very proactive next year,” he said during the town's Oct. 11 council meeting.
Town development officer Jade Prefontaine said dog owners get a “cut rate” on the price of licences from Dec. 1 to Jan. 31.
“I know you advertise it well and I think this year we should really… nail people who do not have dog licences,” Stuart said to Prefontaine.
“I don't want to push the panic button. Just, I know from talking to (bylaw officer) Butch (Walters) when he gets a call about a dog that's out, 70 per cent of the time they don't have a dog licence,” Stuart added.
“He contacts the owner and, ‘oh yeah, we forgot to buy a licence this year.'”
Dog licences in Bowden cost $30 per year for spayed or neutered animals; $40 if not spayed or neutered. Licences are half price if bought in December or January.
Bowden CAO James Mason says a town bylaw requires dogs to have licences. He notes there's another practical side to that bylaw.
“If the dog gets loose, having a license helps reconnect with the owner.”
During another discussion on bylaws, Stuart said Walters indicated to him he plans to be “a little more proactive in stopping dogs (from) coming into the schoolyards.”
“Oh, good,” Coun. Sheila Church said.
“The last time I talked to him he said dogs weren't a problem, but if they became a problem then he would (crack down),” Stuart said.
“They are a problem,” Church said.
"I know from talking to Butch when he gets a call about a dog that's out, 70 per cent of the time they don't have a dog licence."ROBB STUART MAYOR TOWN OF BOWDEN
