Citizen Canine Ratings

I am not going to list each and every group out there that surveyed the candidates, but Citizen Canine is one I will list.

I am an unrepentant dog lover. My wonderful dog Laika died a year ago. She was a well know part of the neighbourhood. She was better known than I was.

She was well trained, well behaved and lived for the last three years of her life in retirement here in Victoria - when I lived in the interior her job was to keep the yard free of bears a job she did very well.

I did not have a fenced yard and Laika enjoyed lying outside of the front of the house and watching the world go by. I walked her in downtown Victoria without a leash. I went for a drink and she would sit outside and wait quietly. Her behaviour was not an accident or a freak of nature, it came from the strong bond between Laika and myself.

A dog that is loved, well socialized and trained does not need to be leashed. Our laws around dogs are based on the idea that the dogs are a problem. It would make much more sense to require mandatory training of the owners and dogs than assume that all dogs are a problem.