July 2, 2007

Professional Dog Walkers Form Coalition to Challenge City's Permit Policy

A group of Professional Dog Walkers came together last Saturday to organize their opposition to the City's new Commercial Dog Walker Permit Policy (on the agenda for approval at the July 4 meeting of the Parks and Environment Committee). Many of the Walkers present, and well as the majority of the members of the All Canadian Pet Services Network who responded to a survey, welcome a policy as means to further enhance their professionalism and accountability, and allow them to continue to enjoy the use of City Parks.

Most walkers agree with the City's objective to monitor dog walkers in order to ensure that they walk a manageable number of appropriately behaved dogs. The Policy's proposed limit of 6 dogs per Walker was considered reasonable, and seen as easy to identify and enforce.

Other provisions of the Policy were greeted with firm opposition, however. Despite the City's claim that staff worked collaboratively with the dog walker community to develop the policy, dog walkers say little of their input was actually incorporated. "What we said at meetings and what's in the policy are very different things," said Dagmar Siilats, one of the dog walkers who participated in the City's Dogs In Parks subcommittee.

In particular, dog walkers reject the provision which empowers Bylaw Enforcement Officers to charge and fine them if any of the dogs in their care lack a license or have an expired tag. "Dog walkers do not have the ability to license these dogs or renew their tags; only their owners can do that," pointed out Gillian Morton, a dog walker from the Annex. "We don't want the task of bylaw enforcement to be downloaded to dog walkers."

Most walkers also disagreed with the Policy's requirement that a proposed permit be worn and visible at all times. The dog walkers, many of whom are women, expressed concern that they will become targets of negative attention and that displaying the permit could jeopardize their safety, especially if their name is visible. "This is not a requirement for other park permit holders," noted Ed Daniels, a walker from Toronto’s East end. "Having the permit on our persons and producing it on request to Bylaw Enforcement Officers should suffice."

The meeting concluded with a critical discussion of the proposed Appeals process, should the permit be revoked. The newly formed Professional Dog Walkers Coalition decided it will meet again to plan a legal challenge and public awareness campaign if the Permit Policy is passed by City Council in mid-July. "Most dog walkers don't yet know about the specifics of the Policy. The City estimates there are 1,200 professional dog walkers in Toronto, but recorded only 35 signed in at the City's public consultations. When dog walkers realize what's going on, the City will face concerted opposition," said Gillian Morton. "We want dog walkers to get in touch with us and join the coalition."