‘Dogs paying for dogs’ – owners face licence-fee hike for improvements to pooch parks
NEWS/ CITY HALL — Dog parks will be more comfortable places for dogs and owners in the coming year, thanks to $35,000 the City plans to spend upgrading them.
(Tourism Kamloops photo)
But it will cost owners another $5 for each pooch they licence, meaning they’ll be paying $30 apiece.
Council approved the move at its budget meeting Tuesday but it didn’t come without some questions.
“Dogs do cost the taxpayers money,” said Coun. Tina Lange, but she added, “It seems to me it should be a sustainable department. It should be user pay.”
She felt dog parks are already costing taxpayers enough money and any increases to licences should go toward animal control in general rather than paying for upgrades to dog parks.
“I don’t think we need to be investing anything more in dog parks.”
Coun. Ken Christian disagreed. “These are dogs paying for dogs.”
Coun. Marg Spina worried that raising fees for the approximately 7,000 licenced dogs in Kamloops might discourage some owners from buying licences. “We’re better off to keep the status quo.”
Coun. Pat Wallace said the expenditure would increase safety and lighting and give owners a greater sense of security. “Dog parks are kind of ugly,” she said. “They’re not pretty.”
Lange, Spina and Coun. Donovan Cavers voted against the change in fees.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Sorry Richard. While I admire the love that people have for their dogs ( I am a cat person and feel the same way about my cats ), there is no way that the population in general should have to pay for infrastructure dedicated only to them.
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“there is no way that the population in general should have to pay for infrastructure dedicated only to them”
But are you ok with the buckets of money the general population has to pay to for infrastructure dedicated to those who play organized sports? Should all residents not be treated equal?
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Dogs have been apart of our civilization for ten thousand years. It is time that this fact was recognized. The urban planning process should include accommodating people with dogs, and should not be viewed as a token effort for a minority of citizens. If dog parks are to be self funded, so too should all the other people only parks, and all the other services the city provides. There is no valid reason that dog owners should be singled out..
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